Introduced in the 1995 fantasy adventure Jumanji, the cursed board game has transformed over the years to become a seemingly average video game. However, when used, it can draw players within a dangerous and unexpected world. Luckily, there's a friendly face ready to meet them in the form of Nigel Billingsley, a helpful guide played by Rhys Darby.
Ahead of the film's March 17 release on Blu-ray and DVD, Darby spoke with CBR about what appeals to him about the role of Nigel, and what he hopes happen to his character in a potential sequel.
Nigel is the in-game guide who appears at the beginning of each adventure to explain everything to the players. It's a necessary role for the strange world in which the film primarily takes place, but Darby is able to infuse the necessity with a lot of charm and goofy confidence.
"It's a great role to play," Darby said, "because we all need the information laid out, and one of the great things about this kind of movie is that it's laid out purposefully, in video game format so no one's beating around the bush. We know we need to know the backstory, we need to know where we're going, what we're doing. The more these characters end up in these avatars and end up in Jumanji, the more they get used to it. It's clearly different every time, but the idea is there. It's fun to be the person they can trust, even though there's more peril each time... I like dropping them just in the desert. I love how much of Jumanji: The Next Level was actually the next level... Each time, it's like Nigel is the only one we can rely on in this whole thing. That feels good to me, that safe commander."
Considering which avatar he'd want to become if he himself ever got sucked into the world of Jumanji, Darby pointed out that, "It's difficult not to go Bravestone because he's so capable."
"I'd probably end up being Mouse," he continued. "I can just see it. I do love animals, I do love big backpacks and gadgets like that. He is very skilled, he just seems very small. That's the Mouse."
The final moments of Jumanji: The Next Level tease the future of the franchise and how it could impact the rest of the real world. Although the players are able to save Jumanji and are restored to the real world, Spencer's mother and a repairman reactivate the game. But this time, the device seems to open up, unleashing animals and supernatural threats onto the real world. The film ends with ostriches running through the streets while the human players watch from inside a diner, but it's likely that other aspects of the game universe could have made the transition to the real world as well -- including Nigel.
That possibility is particularly exciting for Darby, whose character has yet to go any active adventures with the rest of the avatars from the game.
"Dude, that's what I'm waiting for," Darby exclaimed. "This franchise has to keep going, cause Nigel has to come to the real world and I have to act like a real human. I can improvise and be funnier than just a robotic AI. I'm hanging out for that. Nigel is a proper adventurer, in the real world, he'd have those skills. But we can also see he's quite jovial and funny, from his funny rhymes to his general demeanor, so we could see that in the real world. It'd be cool."
Director Jake Kasdan's Jumanji: The Next Level stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Rory McCann, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman and Morgan Turner. The film is now available digitally and on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD.