2025’s summer time film season is formally going prehistoric, as a result of the first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth is right here. The seventh movie within the Jurassic Park franchise and the primary of a “new period” after the Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard-led trilogy wrapped up with Jurassic World Dominion, this new entry comes from director Gareth Edwards and has a wholly new forged, together with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali. However, regardless of the expertise concerned, together with the return of unique Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, the movie’s premise as proven within the trailer appears like a step backward for this sequence. Where is the world of dinosaurs that Fallen Kingdom promised, and Dominion as soon as once more appeared to tease?
Let’s check out what the trailer does and doesn’t present, and why the Jurassic World sequence appears to be lacking out on its largest alternative.
Back to the Cretaceous
The Jurassic World trilogy might have had a mixed reception from critics, however the franchise stands as one of the crucial persistently profitable blockbuster properties on the worldwide field workplace for the previous decade and alter. Global audiences love their dinosaurs, and even when Universal deliberate on retiring the forged from the primary three World movies, extra dino blockbusters have been all however assured. The studio was fast to snap up a brand new forged and crew for additional installments, with director Gareth Edwards of 2014’s Godzilla and Rogue One fame being probably the most fascinating aspect. Edwards is probably unmatched amongst his contemporaries with regards to conveying scale in VFX-heavy blockbusters, and his background in CGI provides him a leg up on four-quadrant movies in comparison with the various Sundance infants or indie movie darlings that the likes of Marvel generally scoop up for his or her initiatives.
And it exhibits within the trailer: The dinosaurs look implausible in movement, and Edwards’ eye behind the digicam and eager consideration to element with regards to proportions and lighting already make this new movie look leagues forward of many ugly blockbusters we’ve seen in recent times. That he completed this on a truncated schedule (he was solely employed in February 2024 and was already in manufacturing by June) is all of the extra exceptional. We don’t get sufficient time with the brand new forged of characters within the trailer to get the very best sense of whether or not they’ll be value investing in, however the motion appears good and we’re clearly getting loads of dino screentime, one thing that isn’t as assured as we’d wish to assume. Remember the evil locusts from Jurassic World Dominion? Wait, you don’t? Well, we don’t blame you.
Yet though we’ve causes to be cautiously optimistic about Rebirth, the truth that the movie doesn’t appear to be utilizing the “world of dinosaurs” idea that’s been teased since Fallen Kingdom’s ending hangs over the trailer like an exploding volcano.
An Island? Again?!
Stop me in case you’ve heard this one earlier than: There’s one other island stuffed with dinosaurs. Seemingly neither Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna, however a secret third factor, Jurassic World Rebirth takes place on an island mentioned to be “the analysis facility for the unique Jurassic Park.” Setting apart that that doesn’t actually sq. with earlier canon, it’s retreating again to franchise custom to set the movie on a tropical island populated by dinosaurs faraway from any sort of civilization. Why are we doing this identical track and dance when the earlier trilogy ended with dinosaurs all around the globe? Well, in response to the official synopsis supplied by Universal, “Five years after the occasions of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has confirmed largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in remoted equatorial environments with climates resembling the one during which they as soon as thrived.”
I imply, positive, I assume, however does this not strike anybody as an pointless course correction? Why spend a lot of the earlier trilogy making an attempt to arrange a literal Jurassic World in case you weren’t going to make use of it? In the identical method Dominion walked again Fallen Kingdom’s ending to comprise a lot of the dinosaur motion inside a gated-off protect within the Italian Alps, Rebirth is now tossing out the greatest new concept the sequence had in years with dinosaurs overrunning the world within the aftermath of Fallen Kingdom’s occasions. It’s a weird artistic selection whenever you’re making an attempt to determine Rebirth as a relaunch of the model with new characters and concepts after they preserve working again to the identical properly the franchise has at all times boxed itself in.
It additionally simply doesn’t actually appear to make sense with the established lore of the earlier movies. Dominion confirmed dinosaurs all around the world in its first half, from snowy areas to city environments. If the surface world was so inhospitable to dinosaurs, why did they appear to have no bother with it within the final film? Especially when the Malta chase in Dominion, the place we noticed carnivores tearing their method via a metropolis, was the very best and most artistic setpiece in that movie? The Jurassic franchise is among the most secure bets in Hollywood; persons are clearly at all times going to wish to see dinosaurs. So why not take an opportunity and do one thing actually completely different with this sequence, and maybe unlock new dimensions you haven’t explored earlier than?
Of course, it’s doable Jurassic World Rebirth has extra methods up its sleeve than they’re displaying on this first trailer. The film’s unique title was even rumored to be Jurassic City, hinting at a kind of setting the trailer might deliberately be hiding. But regardless of the case could also be, it’s well past time for the Jurassic franchise to maneuver previous the tropical island motif. We’re not saying they should go full Planet of the Apes with dinosaurs (however possibly they need to…), however certainly there will be some center floor to see the dinos in new environments. We’ll see how Jurassic World Rebirth shakes out, however for now, we hope the franchise will lastly study the worth of exploring one thing new as an alternative of repackaging one thing previous.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can comply with his fixations on Bluesky.
