Jumanji actress Karen Gillam has offered a response to mixed reactions over her outfit in the first photo from the new movie, in which she — the sole female lead — is wearing far less clothing than her male costars, despite the fact that they're standing in a (likely bug-ridden) jungle.

It's tough not to suspect that, like so many Hollywood actresses before her, Gillam is being thrust in front of a debate over whether her female character is being written — and dressed — like an actual human woman, since it's theoretically more convincing coming from her than from a male producer's mouth. Still, that's wholesale speculation (albeit based on prior examples), and she's not the only cast member aiming to ease fan's concerns.

"Jumanji! Yes I'm wearing child sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it, I promise! #Jumanji," Gillam tweeted on September 21.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose character is not wearing a PLOT-RELEVANT! crop top in the first Jumanji photo, also maintained that "our costumes will all make fun sense soon." This project is clearly off to a promising start.


Original story: Despite a lack of demand from viewers, Hollywood has decided a continuation of the beloved Jumanji story is both necessary and wanted. And based solely on a new Instagram photo shared by one of the movie's stars, Kevin Hart, the franchise has upped its sex appeal and bares little similarity to the spirit of the original.

The image features Hart, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jack Black and, for some baffling reason, a midriff-baring Karen Gillan, and hints that the movie will exist, at least partly, in a jungle -- unlike the 1995 film, which took place entirely in the fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire. Sadly, the group's fellow Jumanji castmate Nick Jonas did not appear in the exclusive image.

Johnson did note in a previous Instagram post that the forthcoming film will not be a scene-for-scene remake but rather a "continuation" of the original Robin Williams-starring Jumanji. He wrote, "for the record we are NOT making a reboot, but rather a continuation of the awesome JUMANJI story."

While the initial movie announcement was met with backlash back in 2015 -- some fans felt the studio unveiled the news too soon after Robin Williams' 2014 death, according to CNN -- Johnson has remained adamant that the upcoming film will honor the late actor and his character, Alan Parrish.

"An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless," Johnson wrote via Instagram, his preferred method of communication. "You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of 'Alan Parrish' will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way. I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud."

The sexier, far removed Jumanji reboot is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2017.

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