WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Jumanji: The Next Level, in theaters now.

Jumanji: The Next Level brings back the star-studded cast of the previous film, pushing the human players back into their Jumanji avatars for another adventure. But this time around, there are some new faces among the players (like Spencer's Grandfather, Eddie) and new characters (like Ming the thief). It all builds to an over-the-top assault on a giant castle to save the world, as any video game plot should.

Here's how we get to the explosive and emotional ending of Jumanji: The Next Level, and how it could set up the future of the film series.

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GAME OVER

Heading into their final mission, the group is keenly aware of the precarious situation they're in. Most of the group has been reduced to one life for various reasons, save for the newly arrived Bethany (in the horse body Cyclone) and Alex (in the body of Seaplane McDonough) who have all three of theirs. Discovering a river with the same character swapping properties that French and Martha found earlier in the film, the group is able to realign their characters to better fit their strengths.

This ends with the group back in the avatars they all used in the original (Spencer as Bravestone, Martha as Ruby, Bethany as Shelly and Fridge as Mouse) as well as leaving Eddie in the thief, Ming Fleetfoot and Milo inside Cyclone.

Although Eddie and Milo are promptly captured, the group heads into the villainous Jurgen the Brutal's castle to try and save them while also completing the game objective of stealing the Phoenix Stone from the barbarian king. Although Spencer and Martha are successful in saving Eddie, it costs Alex two of his lives to liberate Milo. Meanwhile, Fridge and Bethany's distraction attempts (somehow) work long enough for the gang to regroup and fight Jurgen head-on.

The battle is handily won by the players, while Jurgen tries to flee with the stone inside a blimp. Spencer is able to keep up and even kill him in the battle, weakening him with a Jumanji berry and tackling him out of the aircraft as it explodes and starts to crash around them. Spencer is able to get the Phoenix Stone to Eddie, who's riding atop Milo (now revealed to not just be a horse but a pegasus), and Eddie accidentally activates it -- ending the game in victory for the players.

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RESTART

Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson, Awkwafina and Jack Black star in JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

Having won the day the group is greeted by Nigel Billingsley, the NPC guide who laid out their quest in the first place. While most of them are happy to just leave the game in peace, Milo elects to remain behind. He reveals (through Fridge, who can translate horse thanks to his zoologist skills) to the group that he's terminally ill, which explains why he tried to patch things up with Eddie in the first place. But in this world, he's not on the verge of death. Instead, he can remain behind and really get to fly around as a pegasus, which sounds like heaven to Milo. The group says their goodbyes, and Milo takes off into the sky as the others depart the game world.

The group readjusts in a happier standing than before with Spencer fully reentering the group. His relationship with Martha is also shown to be on the mend. Meanwhile, Eddie comes to the restaurant that he and Milo opened together and eventually led to their falling out. Learning that the restaurant currently has no manager and has been in a bit of strait over it, Eddie offers up his services so he can get back to work.

The film ends on a happy note for almost everyone -- save potentially Spencer's mother and the heating repairman who finally arrives at the house, who are about to accidentally activate the game once more just as the film ends.

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WHAT THIS MEANS

The biggest takeaway from this ending is that Jumanji does not end up destroyed or hidden away by the main characters. With Milo now living in the world, it's possible the group has decided not to dismantle the game as they had before. At any point, the players could return to the world and potentially lead quiet, happy lives within the world of the game. Although none of them seem excited to go back, it does mean there's an option to return to the game at some point in the future.

But they could have at least hidden it somehow to prevent curious people like Spencer's mother from touching it. This means there's a chance she's either been sucked into the game or that the game has been fully unleashed on the world, as suggested by the herd of ostriches that run through the streets of the real world during the post-credits sequence of the film in a manner similar to the original Jumanji film. This might be the direction the series takes going forward, which could lead to the characters from the game coming into the real world as well.

Opening Friday nationwide, 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.

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