By Zach Johnson

Two days after making a splash at the world premiere of Disney’s Jungle Cruise, four of the film’s stars—Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, and Jack Whitehall—returned to Disneyland on Monday for a virtual press conference with media from all over the world.

Releasing simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 30, Disney’s Jungle Cruise stars Johnson as Frank Wolff, a charismatic skipper and head of the Jungle Navigation Company; Blunt as Lily Houghton, a strongminded scientist and explorer; Ramírez as Captain Aguirre, fearsome leader of the cutthroat conquistadors; and Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton, a proper English gent who’s simply along for the ride.

Disney’s Jungle Cruise “was made in the spirit of films that we all grew up watching,” explained Blunt, who cited Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, and The African Queen among her favorite films. “They’re just joy bombs. They’re nostalgic, and we wanted to pierce people’s hearts directly with the spirit of those films that we all loved as children.”

Here’s what else the cast had to say during the virtual press conference:

1. Dwayne Johnson went overboard to convince Emily Blunt to be his co-star.
Johnson said he signed on to the project “immediately,” whereas Blunt required a little more convincing. “Our director, Jaume Collet-Serra, was flying to New York to meet Emily to hand deliver the Jungle Cruise script,” Johnson said. “Before he went, I said, ‘Listen, I’m gonna send you a video. Just give it to her, from me.’ I said, ‘Emily, you are the only one who can do this movie.’” Blunt said she was “very touched” by the gesture, adding, “I really loved it!” Once she was on board, the co-stars “became pals for life” instantaneously, and their natural chemistry is apparent onscreen. “I knew when we met,” Blunt said. “We had this rapport that ping-ponged back and forth so quickly. I thought, ‘This is going to be fun.’”

2. “How many of you are on the Jungle Cruise for the first time? Good! So am I!”
Johnson and Whitehall first experienced the pun-fueled riverboat adventure ride as children. Blunt and Ramírez, however, didn’t board the world-famous Jungle Cruise until the night of the premiere. “I loved it,” said Blunt. “I thought it was very whimsical and sweet, and I could see the elements from the ride that have made it into the film.” Ramírez said he experienced the attraction with his family and friends after the screening, “and I loved it for the same reasons that Emily just described, because it was simple, it was cute, it was tender, and it was silly.” The movie draws inspiration from its namesake attraction and brings it to the “next level,” he added. “It [has] that delicious silliness that is so refreshing.”

3. Jack Whitehall’s character isn’t as superficial as he first appears.
In one scene, MacGregor reveals to Frank that he previously broke off three engagements to women because his “interests happily lay elsewhere.” He then explains that he would do anything for his sister, Lily—including following her into the Amazon—as she was the only person who stood by him after he came out. “I think it was a scene that we really wanted to get right,” said Whitehall. “What’s so great about this movie is that all of the characters feel so fleshed out. And all of them have interesting backstories, and they’re fully realized.”

4. Édgar Ramírez’s character adds a supernatural element to the film.
Captain Aguirre causes major problems for Frank, Lily, and McGregor as they cruise through the Amazon… but Ramírez doesn’t see him as a bad guy. “Is he a villain? He’s misunderstood,” Ramírez argued. “It comes from pain. I feel for him.” What he loves about the conquistadors—and Aguirre, specifically—is that they take the audience on a journey into the past. “You have all these fantastical elements, and that’s what I go to the movies for. I want to be disconnected from reality and go on a journey and be able to dream of fantastical places, and fantastical characters, and fantastical creatures. So, I’m very happy.”

5. Jaume Collet-Serra literally created a fun environment for the cast and crew.
The film had an expert stunt team that designed incredible sequences for the actors, but Collet-Serra insisted that they always be character-driven. Some of the stunts, it turned out, would be easier to execute than others. “The vine swing, for me, was the most challenging because [Johnson] would not let me get one straight take! He pushed it so far—every time—to try and make me laugh on that vine swing,” Blunt recalled. “I was like, ‘Just tell me what you’re going to say this time so I can be prepared!’ And every time he’d throw in some awful improv that would make me laugh. I don’t know how many times we must have shot that.” According to Whitehall, Collet-Serra created a playful environment. “The script was amazing, but we were given the space to improvise. He really encouraged that. There were probably a few jokes that ended up on the cutting room floor… for the right reasons!”

By the D23 Team

Disney’s Jungle Cruise, inspired by the classic Disney theme park attraction, is a rollicking thrill ride down the mighty and mysterious Amazon, set to make waves when it arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on Friday, July 30. Featuring a star-studded cast led by Dwayne Johnson as the wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and Emily Blunt as determined botanist Dr. Lily Houghton, Jungle Cruise is a pulse-quickening adventure in which Lily enlists Frank’s guide service and his ramshackle boat, La Quila, to convey her through the deepest and most dangerous parts of the Amazon River to try to uncover the mystery of an ancient tree—one with the power to change the fate of humanity. Here is a guide to the dazzling array of colorful characters you will meet beginning this Friday when Jungle Cruise debuts.

Frank Wolff/Dwayne Johnson
Charismatic skipper Frank Wolff is head of the Jungle Navigation Company. Opportunistic and endlessly charming, Frank leads unwitting tourists on sightseeing cruises along the Amazon that are low on substance but high on humor. As a producer, the potential for a Jungle Cruise–influenced feature film project was tantalizing enough, but to take on the mantle of Frank, the down-on-his-luck skipper of the jungle cruise riverboat, was chock-full of possibilities for Johnson. Describing his character, Johnson says, “Frank is a skipper on the Amazon, and he takes a lot of pride in what he does. There are elements as the movie progresses where you start to realize things about Frank that one would never have guessed. The man is an old soul who has a very unique perspective on life itself. Frank meets Lily, who is ambitious and brave and funny and charming and beautiful, and all these things eventually remind him how great life can be.”

Dr. Lily Houghton/Emily Blunt
Dr. Lily Houghton is a determined British scientist and explorer who is as brilliant as she is fearless. Driven not only by her ideals but by an unrelenting desire to prove herself, free-spirited Lily is a force to be reckoned with. “I was just so struck by Lily’s determination and tenacity, and the fact that she was so ahead of her time, considering that the film is set in 1917,” says Blunt. “There was so much inequality between men and women and what was expected of her at the time. But she doesn’t subscribe to what was appropriate for her sex. And I found her really funny. She’s very reckless and heedless and adventurous. I admired her spirit.”

Captain Aguirre/Edgar Ramírez
Captain Aguirre is the fearsome leader of a cutthroat crew of soldiers. These cursed men are powerful fighters who carry a personal vendetta that makes them even more of a threat to Frank and Lily on their quest. “I also love the mystery of my character, Aguirre, and the duality of the character,” Ramirez says. “To play a character like Aguirre, who walks that very thin line between good and evil, is very interesting.”

MacGregor Houghton/Jack Whitehall
Lily’s brother, MacGregor, joins her and Frank on their expedition down the Amazon. Dapper MacGregor enjoys the finer things in life—stylish fashion, fine dining and elegant living—even in the middle of the rain forest. British comedian/actor Jack Whitehall is perfectly cast as a well-meaning sibling, whose often inept attempts to take care of his sister give the film some of its most hilarious moments. Although he and Blunt had never met, they soon discovered some unexpected overlaps in their backgrounds growing up in the same part of London. The pair easily fell into a familial rapport. “Our backstories are very similar,” notes Whitehall, “so Emily and I playing sister and brother just seems so right. I think we’ve been able to transfer all of those weird connections we have on to the screen in the best possible way.”

Nilo/Paul Giamatti
Owner of a wildly successful sightseeing cruise company, Nilo is a powerful figure—and a tough competitor—in the Amazonian port town where Frank ekes out a living with his ramshackle boat. Veteran actor Paul Giamatti portrays Nilo, who has a long history with Frank Wolff, Johnson’s character. “Nilo keeps Frank under his thumb,” says Giamatti. “He extorts money out of him, and he wants all the boats in the town. He even wants Frank’s beat-up boat. Nilo just wants to control everything. So he’s bullying Frank to get what he wants.” Frank’s boat, La Quila, is the exact opposite of Nilo’s slick, state-of-the-art tourist boats that are moored in the same harbor. “La Quila is a wonderful sort of character in and of itself,” comments Giamatti. “It’s just a fantastic, beat-up old trooper of a boat, which Frank is like too, in many ways. Frank’s been around a long time, and the boat’s been around a long time.”

Prince Joachim/Jesse Plemons
Prince Joachim is a wealthy and capable young commander with an arsenal of military-grade weapons at his disposal. In his quest for power and glory, he ruthlessly seeks the secret at the heart of Lily and Frank’s journey. “We tried to create a villain character that feels unique,” Plemons says. “It was just about finding his quirks. He’s someone who is forward-thinking and looking far ahead into the future. So, I tried to keep that in mind when I was working on the character.”