Welcome To The Jungle: Shoot halted, payments stuck, cast confused: what is happening?

Akshay Kumar's ambitious comedy venture Welcome To The Jungle appears to be tangled in a series of complications. Despite a high-profile announcement and a grand ensemble, the project has reportedly hit a financial roadblock, stalling production indefinitely.

Industry chatter suggests that the shooting schedule has been largely inactive for nearly ten months. After initial filming began in late 2023, progress has been sporadic, with the last major activity reportedly taking place in August last year. Since then, cameras haven’t rolled, and key segments remain unfinished.

The situation seems to have taken a more serious turn with delays in remuneration. Multiple insiders claim that lead actors and their supporting teams are yet to receive payments for the work already done. These financial lags have led to several planned shoots being cancelled over the past few months.

Reportedly, the crew has been rescheduling dates based on shooting commitments, only for those dates to get abruptly dropped due to unresolved backend issues. While some actors have stepped away from the project quietly, others are said to be holding on, motivated more by their past association with the franchise than by present incentives.

Another point of buzz is Akshay Kumar’s substantial reported ownership in the project. Sources claim he holds a majority financial stake in the film, with producer Firoz Nadiadwala and a few others sharing the rest. However, there has been no official statement from the production team addressing the ongoing situation.

Welcome To The Jungle is the third installment in the much-loved Welcome film series and boasts an enormous line-up of comic and action talents. The film had initially set its eyes on a December 2024 theatrical release, but with production currently inactive, there’s growing speculation over whether that timeline is still feasible.

As uncertainty continues to hover, the fate of this high-profile sequel hangs in the balance, leaving fans and insiders alike wondering if the jungle adventure will see the light of day.