The first Jumanji: The Next Level trailer is here, but what song plays over the footage? In 2017, Sony successfully relaunched the Jumanji property with Welcome to the Jungle. Featuring an all-star cast of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black, the film received praise from critics for being a fun adventure movie over the holiday season, and it was a tremendous box office hit to boot. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle earned $404.5 million domestically, holding its own against Star Wars: The Last Jedi and becoming Sony's highest-grossing film of all-time.
Unsurprisingly, the studio moved quickly on a sequel, opting once again to have a Christmas showdown with Star Wars this December. With just about five months remaining until Jumanji's release (as of this writing) and Sony coming out with Spider-Man: Far From Home over an extended Fourth of July weekend, the time was perfect to launch a Next Level marketing campaign. The movie's first trailer is here, and it sports a classic tune to listen to.
The Jumanji: The Next Level trailer is set to "It's All in the Game," which was a 1958 single from Tommy Edwards. It's been recorded by several artists, including Nat King Cole, Cliff Richard, Four Tops, and Merle Haggard. The song actually originated as an instrumental track in 1911, before Carl Sigman added lyrics in 1951.
Looking over those lyrics, "It's All in the Game" is clearly a romantic song, with love serving as the aforementioned game. In the song, the singer appears to be comforting a heartbroken woman, ensuring them that their true love will be at their side no matter how bad things seem to get. Thematically, the lyrics (probably) have nothing to do with Jumanji: The Next Level. The trailer positions it as another comedic adventure, similar to its predecessor (with the twist of Johnson and Hart portraying elderly men). Sony's marketing department likely chose this song because of the title; the characters in Jumanji find themselves in the game, and need to work together so they can go back home. Additionally, 1950s pop makes for an amusing juxtaposition against the set pieces and helps the trailer stand out a little more. "It's All in the Game" is arguably a better selection than a moody cover of a classic song.
"It's All in the Game" is also a stark contrast from "Welcome to the Jungle," which (for obvious reasons) was the soundtrack of choice for Welcome to the Jungle's advertising campaign. It'll be interesting to see if Sony goes with something a little more fast-paced for future TV spots or trailers, but "It's All in the Game" is an inspired choice. It being from a bygone era is reflective of Johnson and Hart's characters being from another era themselves.
