Jake Kasdan to direct 'Jumanji' remake

Director Jake Kasdan will direct the remake of "Jumanji".

Kasdan is known for his works like "Sex Tape", "Bad Teacher", "Orange County" and "Friends with Kids", and has been hired to direct the remake by Columbia Pictures.

It will be a challenging job for Kasdan given that the film is slated to be released in the US on December 25 this year, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Scott Rosenberg, the writer behind "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Con Air", was tapped to do a rewrite on the script to the 1995 hit remake.

Matt Tolmach and Bill Teitler are co-producers on the project, with Ted Field and Mike Wevber as executive producers.

The original movie starring actors Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt was adapted from Chris Van Allsburg's children's book which tells a story about two children who play a jungle-oriented board game. They unintentionally release a man trapped in the game for decades. With the supernatural power of the game, they also unleash jungle's creatures into the world.

Although the remake will return to the source material that inspired the 1995 film, it will be reimagined for the present time.