Given how aggressively mediocre the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise has been over the last twenty years, it’s only fair if your excitement for “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is muted. Cautiously curious, maybe. Actively optimistic? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
That said, there are some intriguing names attached. Gareth Edwards (“The Creator,” “Rogue One”) is directing. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey lead the cast. Alexandre Desplat is scoring it. And original “Jurassic Park” writer David Koepp is back on script duty. On paper, this actually sounds promising. But we’ve been burned before. Repeatedly.
In a new interview, Johansson claims ‘Rebirth’ is going back to the franchise’s roots, pointing to Koepp’s script and noting that Edwards is an “enormous fan” of Steven Spielberg. She even goes so far as to say, “So I think it really is a love letter to Steven’s work. Fans of the Jurassic universe can expect to really feel the DNA of the original ‘Jurassic Park’ in this film.”
That’s a nice sentiment. But if we had a dollar for every time someone in this franchise promised a “return to form” … At this point, we’re not even asking for greatness; just something good, something watchable.
To Universal’s credit, a full reboot actually makes sense. ‘Rebirth’ ditches franchise fatigue survivors Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in favor of a fresh cast and a cleaner slate.
Edwards and company clearly want this to feel like Spielberg’s 1993 original—something that none of the six sequels, no matter how loud or CG-heavy, have come close to capturing since.
We’ll see if ‘Rebirth’ actually delivers or just joins the pile of missed potential. It opens July 2. Bring your popcorn, and your skepticism.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.