Universal isn’t waiting around to relaunch one of its signature franchises. The studio is already developing a seventh film, Jurassic Park/World movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth. And it won’t take long to arrive in theaters. Universal has already carved out a prime 2025 summer release date. Who will star in it? Who is making it? And what is it about?
For now, we have our first looks at the new Jurassic World movie. In them, we see Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali off on new adventures and, in some cases, getting literally waist-deep in the dino world.
We also see star Scarlett Johansson ready to take on some dino dangers with a complicated gun in her hand. Gulp!
Director Gareth Edwards teases the movie will capture the heart of what audiences love about the franchise. He reveals, “It goes back to what I loved about the original, with an embarrassment of riches of different set-piece-type scenarios and tense, fun action moments. There were a lot of opportunities as a filmmaker to have a lot of fun and try and play games with the audience.” Empire shares that the film “set five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion… continues the dinos-in-the-wild premise established across that trilogy, while beginning ‘a whole new chapter in the timeline of Jurassic.'”
The movie will be chock full of dinosaurs, of course. According to Edwards, “There are certain dinosaurs it would be a crime against cinema not to include.” But humanity will be in play as well. Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, who is “leading an epic dino-DNA hunt.” Gareth notes, “She’s looking for meaning in her life after leaving the military, and this opportunity comes along where [after it] basically she’d never have to work again. But through that journey, she starts to question the ethical rights and wrongs of what they’re doing.”
Here’s everything we know about the new Jurassic World movie so far.
Title
The new Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movie is officially called Jurassic World: Rebirth.
Jurassic World: Rebirth‘s Plot
Jurassic World: Rebirth will explore a “new” Jurassic era and story, in what is being described as a franchise reboot. If history is any guide it will also launch another trilogy. Here’s what the official synopsis shares about the new Jurassic World movie:
Academy Award® nominee Scarlett Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.
Mahershala Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team leader; Emmy nominee and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Bridgerton) plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend (Homeland, Obi-Wan Kenobi) appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer, Murder on the Orient Express) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family.
The cast includes Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF) and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).
Edwards additionally shares of Jurassic Park: Rebirth, “I can’t speak for Universal, but it did feel like a new trilogy, in a way. I’m not sure what their plans are, but it felt like the beginning of a brand-new chapter in this franchise. To me, it’s a giant love letter to Steven Spielberg and his earlier films. There are moments in this movie that remind me very much of Jaws. It’s like little greatest hits of all those aspects of his films that I loved growing up as a child. It’s essentially a little adventure odyssey across this island, a survival story, really.”
Jurassic World: Rebirth Cast
The upcoming Jurassic World movie will feature an all-new cast headlined by original Avenger Scarlett Johansson. Co-starring with Johansson are Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey. Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi) is also getting in on the modern prehistoric mayhem.
Other performers in the new Jurassic World include Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).
Behind the Scenes
David Koepp, who wrote both Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, is returning to pen the franchise’s seventh installment. Rogue One‘s Gareth Edwards will direct after The Fall Guy‘s David Leitch stepped down. Filming will begin this year and will have a quick post-production timeline.
Jurassic World trilogy producer Frank Marshall is returning for the series’ latest installment. Series alum Patrick Crowley is also back for dinosaur mayhem. And original franchise director Steven Spielberg is also serving as an executive producer via Amblin Entertainment.
The latest news about the new Jurassic World suggests the movie is heading to Thailand. Per Variety, we saw that Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan noted that Thailand is honored to host the filming, however “It is strictly required that they comply with relevant laws and regulations, and must not affect and damage natural resources and the environment.” That sounds like a fair deal to us.
Jurassic World: Rebirth‘s Release Date
We won’t have to wait long for Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth movie. It will come to theaters on July 2, 2025.
Originally published on July 9, 2024.
