It was just a few weeks ago that David Leitch was practically set to direct the next ‘Jurassic World’ movie for Universal. Four days later, he dropped out over “creative differences.” This temporarily set back plans for the movie to hit its targeted 2025 date.
As you can imagine, Universal is desperately trying to kickstart production on this one, ASAP. With the aim of a July 2, 2025 release locked into their heads, they had to quickly scramble to find a replacement for Leitch.
It turns out that it didn’t take too long for them to find that person, and it was “The Creator” filmmaker Gareth Edwards. This was a great pick by Universal. Given his background in both sci-fi and monster movies, Edwards, more so than Leitch, is a genuinely perfect match for the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise.
We’re now learning that this latest ‘Jurassic World’ will be starting production on July 31st in Los Angeles. No word yet on whether David Koepp’s script is ready to go, but I would imagine Universal is fairly confident that all the pieces will be in place by 07.31.24. With Edwards set to helm, I haven’t been this interested in a ‘Jurassic’ movie since Spielberg helmed the first two.
This latest ‘Jurassic’ film is said to be a fresh new take, with former castmembers Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard not expected to return, nor the original trilogy’s Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Sam Neill. They’re, supposedly, scratching off nostalgia for something brand new.
A complete cast, or close to one, must also be forthcoming. One would undoubtedly need a strong set of actors to make this work, and there have been rumored names, including — pure speculation — those of Jenna Ortega Bryan Cranston and Glen Powell. I would also have to imagine Edwards will try to get his ‘Creator’ DP Greig Fraser to lens this one.
All in all, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s finally some real promise for this franchise. That’s what happens when you hire a talented filmmaker to steer the ship in the right direction.