Jumanji: Jake Kasdan to direct reboot for Sony

It’s game on for Jake Kasdan: The Orange County and Bad Teacher director is set to helm Sony’s reboot of the adventure-fantasy Jumanji, EW has confirmed.

The studio is moving aggressively toward production on the movie, which is billed as a new take on Chris Van Allsburg’s Caldecott-winning children’s book about a jungle-themed board game whose dangers magically spring to life.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters this Christmas.

Kasdan, who is the son of acclaimed screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark), will work from a screenplay by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers wrote the original draft. Matt Tolmach and Bill Teitler are producing.

Jumanji was previously brought to the screen in 1995 by director Joe Johnston, with a cast including Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, and Bradley Pierce. The movie received mixed reviews and grossed $100 million at the domestic box office.

Sony announced the reboot last year as part of a slate heavy on familiar source material.

Deadline first reported the news about Kasdan.