2025 will be filled with huge new entries in numerous movie franchises after a somewhat quieter 2024, and Jurassic World: Rebirth is near the top of this year’s ‘most anticipated blockbusters’ lists even if 2022’s Dominion was a T-Rex-sized disappointment. One of its secret weapons could be return of Jurassic Park and The Lost World scribe David Koepp, and he’s got more to share about his approach to the seventh installment.
While director Gareth Edwards (of Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story fame) has been discussing a bit of the process of shooting on-location and introducing a new cast of characters, Koepp is understandably much more excited about the opportunity (and challenges) that came with returning to a world he’d helped assemble back in the 1990s. If he’s being honest, it really sounds like Rebirth is a return to the basics, but one that won’t ignore any of the forward movement made by the three previous Jurassic World movies.
“Writing those first two movies were some of my favorite experiences in my career so far. The combination of grand adventure and real science is right up my alley. And it was fun to be able to decide on a new tone, because every three movies seems like a good time to change tone and characters in a franchise,” he told TheWrap recently. Like ’em or hate ’em, the three Jurassic World movies have successfully resurrected the franchise across theatrical, TV, and video games, each grossing over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, so another entry would arrive sooner rather than later.
After Colin Trevorrow wrapped up this three-movie story arc and helped get the animated show Camp Cretaceous off the ground, the long-running franchise quietly started looking for new DNA under the supervision of original filmmaker (now producer) Steven Spielberg, who turned to Koepp to usher in a new era that’s both fresh and a continuation of the ideas that were introduced by Trevorrow and his collaborators.
Koepp says he quickly established “nine commandments” (like the ones “Chuck Jones made for the Road Runner shorts”) to keep things coherent and clear moving forward. Chief among them was that “the events of the previous six movies cannot be denied or contradicted,” which should put some odd fan theories to rest.
In fact, we already know the story kicks off a few years about the events of Dominion, with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, now another part of modern nature, gradually returning to the tropical zones of the globe after failing to thrive in different climates. The action follows a group of scientists and hired muscle who are trying to take samples from a number of animals in a remote island; they could help develop miracle medicines and cures for mankind. But, you know, capitalism will probably mess things up. That and overly hungry dinos.
Koepp also insists that the team was chasing the “spirit of the first movie, which is the tone that we would like to get closest to… It felt low pressure, even though Universal might be horrified to hear that.” Hopefully, that also means the movie, which will 100% remain a family-oriented adventure, will have some of the extra ‘bite’ which was absent from the shockingly bloodless sixth installment.
Jurassic World: Rebirth opens on July 2, 2025. Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali lead the cast. The first trailer is expected to drop during next month’s Super Bowl or earlier if we’re lucky.