Star Wars: Rogue One And The Creator Director Gareth Edwards Tapped For New Jurassic World
Welcome back, friends, to the latest episode of "As the Jurassic World Turns." When last we left our intrepid franchise (the one formerly known as "Jurassic Park"), it had just completed a trilogy of films with the "Jurassic World" rebrand moniker. Those films — 2015's "Jurassic World," 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," and 2022's "Jurassic World Dominion," were made under the auspices of director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow (with J.A. Bayona taking over the directing duties for "Fallen Kingdom") and followed Trevorrow's outline, seeing John Hammond's dream of resurrecting dinosaurs for theme park purposes come to fruition and then go wildly out of control, resulting in the entire planet becoming overrun with once-extinct species.
Given the unfortunately tepid reception that "Dominion" received, Universal and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners decided to fast-track a follow-up. It's still not altogether clear what this new installment will be following up; it retains the "Jurassic World" title for now, which implies that it will at least be set after "Dominion," though sources only describe the concept of the film as beginning a "new Jurassic era," meaning that the main characters of the past three films will likely not reappear. What is clear is that writer David Koepp, who penned the first two "Jurassic Park" films, has already written several drafts of the script.
Initially, it seemed that David Leitch, the director who's helped bring mainstream action cinema back to the big screen in recent years with films like "Atomic Blonde," "Bullet Train," and the upcoming "The Fall Guy," was going to take on the task of meeting Universal's already-set release date for the film of July 2, 2025. However, Leitch stepped back, creating a void in the director's chair that needed to be filled. As of today, that chair has a name on the back of it: Gareth Edwards, the visual effects artist-turned-director of 2014's "Godzilla," 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," and last year's "The Creator." Edwards' hiring may end up being very, very good news for both the film itself and the "Jurassic" series in general.
Edwards could bring back the Amblin goodness to 'Jurassic World'
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Edwards' name was on a very short list of directors that Universal was looking at once Leitch decided he (understandably) didn't want to take on a gig that called more for a "shooter" type of director, with the script already well on its way and the release date set in stone (or perhaps I should say preserved in amber?). There's very good reason for that, of course: not only does Edwards have considerable experience in making genre films which either balance visual effects and thrills ("Rogue One," "The Creator,") or deal with creatures that explicitly recall those seen in the "Jurassic" movies ("Monsters" and "Godzilla"), but he has a reputation for being able to execute gorgeously rendered visual effects shots and sequences on a fairly small budget. Despite its own critical reception being mixed, "The Creator" was generally praised for its visuals, and that movie only cost $80 million to make.
Edwards also has a good track record with franchises, as "Rogue One" not only proved that spin-off "Star Wars" installments could work, but the sequel series "Andor" has been incredibly well-received, and the "MonsterVerse" films begun with his "Godzilla" is still going strong with the release of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" next month. One only needs to revisit his "Godzilla" to see just how much Edwards' artistic sensibilities line up with the best of the "Jurassic" movies — his sense of scale and his understanding of the way fantasy creatures move and interact make the prospect of his take on the T-Rex, the Velociraptors and the rest of the dinos incredibly enticing.
While Trevorrow's take on "Jurassic World" could be reappraised in the future for what it was, it feels like Edwards' involvement, combined with Koepp's, signals an interest in the franchise for going back to basics, at least in its tone and aesthetic if not its plot. Just what that plot is, what characters (if any) might return, what dinosaurs may be featured and the rest is still a mystery. For better or worse, however, we know exactly how long we have until we find out: see you in July of 2025, when the "Jurassic World" turns again.