Preview:
- The first trailer for ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ is online.
- Scarlett Johansson, ‘Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali lead the cast.
- Gareth Edwards is in the director’s chair.
2015’s ‘Jurassic World’ was a reboot of the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise, which itself spawned two follow-ups, ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ in 2018 and 2022’s ‘Jurassic World Dominion.’
But what happens when you’re a studio looking to keep that cash dinosaur roaring? If you’re Universal (and executive producer Steven Spielberg’s Amblin company), you, like life, find a way…
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Part of that way was reuniting longtime producers Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, who return to shepherd the new movie, and scriptwriter David Koepp.
He, of course, wrote the first two ‘Jurassic’ movies, working from the concepts and characters originally created by novelist Michael Crichton.
Marshall told Vanity Fair about the idea that Koepp cracked:
“He came up with this idea that dinosaurs were passé now. People were tired of them. They were an inconvenience. People weren’t going to museums to see them or to petting zoos. They were just in the way. And the climate was not conducive to their survival, so they were starting to pass away and get sick. But there was one area around the equator that had the perfect climate and temperature and environment for them.”
‘The Creator’ director Gareth Edwards.
Directing this time is Gareth Edwards, who is best known for the likes of ‘Monsters’ in 2010, 2014’s ‘Godzilla,’ ‘2016’s ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ and, most recently, 2023 sci-fi pic ‘The Creator.’
Here’s what Edwards said about boarding the franchise:
“Jurassic Park is a horror film in the witness protection program. Most people don’t think of it like that. We all went to see it as kids. But I was scared s**tless, to be honest, when I was at the cinema watching the T-Rex attack. It’s one of the most well-directed scenes in cinema history, so the bar’s really high to come on board and try and do this.”
The dinosaurs are the big draw, of course, but the film also needed a human cast for the running and screaming. Enter the likes of Scarlett Johansson, ‘Wicked’s Jonathan Bailey and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.
Related Article: Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey Lead First Look at ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’
What’s the story of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett and Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Five years after the events of ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived.
The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Enter Johansson, who plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material.
The Mosasaurus and Spinosauruses in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park.
There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.
As Marshall explains:
“These are the dinosaurs that didn’t work. There’s some mutations in there. They’re all based on real dinosaur research, but they look a little different.”
As for Johansson, she’s an avowed ‘Jurassic Park’ superfan who always wanted to spend time with the cine-beasts.
This is what she said about that:
“I was really crazy about the film, and I slept in a ‘Jurassic Park’ pup tent in my bedroom I shared with my sister for a year. Anytime the trades would report a new ‘Jurassic’ movie, I would forward to my agents like, ‘Hey, I’m available.’”
She finally got her chance when she got to sit down and talk with Spielberg:
“I hadn’t really sat with him and talked about work, and we spent hours just catching up and chatting, and then at some point, many hours into it, he was like, ‘Wait, we’re supposed to talk about ‘Jurassic’. Do I hear you’re a huge superfan?’ I said, ‘It is actually true. I’m confirming. I’m a huge superfan.’ ”
Who else is in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Mahershala Ali is Duncan Kincaid in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
We’ve already talked about Bailey, also well known for ‘Bridgerton,’ who is paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis. Having seen his museum exhibit funding cut, he’s recruited to bring expert dino knowledge to Zora’s mission.
Ali, meanwhile, is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team leader and the man who can help get the job done.
Rupert Friend (last seen in ‘Companion’) appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs, who wants to exploit the island’s secrets for, he claims, the good of mankind. But you just know he has ulterior motives.
(L to R) Rupert Friend as Martin Krebs and Mahershala Ali is Duncan Kincaid in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (‘The Lincoln Lawyer’) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family.
The cast also includes Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Audrina Miranda as Reuben’s family. And, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain and Ed Skrein.
As for the dinos, we can expect appearances from the Mosasaur, some raptors and, of course the movies’ reptilian superstar, the T-Rex. Oh, and those aforementioned new creatures.
When will ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ be in theaters?
Amblin and Universal have scheduled the new ‘Jurassic’ outing for release on July 2nd, 2025.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Scarlett Johansson is Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Scarlett Johansson is skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett and Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
(L to R) Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
(L to R) Philippine Velge and the Spinosaurus in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
(L to R) Luna Blaise and the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
List of Movies in the ‘Jurassic Park’ Franchise:
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