Gareth Edwards to Direct New ‘Jurassic World’ Movie

The filmmaker, who brought us ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ and ‘The Creator’ is making a deal to direct the new dino-movie after David Leitch ended talks.

(Left) 'The Creator' director Gareth Edwards. (Right) 2015's 'Jurassic World.' Photo: Universal Pictures.

Preview:

Gareth Edwards is aboard the next ‘Jurassic World’ movie.
He’ll kick off filming in June.
The movie has a July 2025 release date on the books.

As Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm once said in ‘Jurassic Park’, “must… go… faster!” It’s a maxim that Universal is taking to heart with the next evolution of its dino-franchise, even if it’s one that doesn’t actually include Ian Malcolm.

Still, the studio hit a road block recently when, after entering talks with ‘Bullet Train’ director David Leitch (whose new movie based on 1980s series ‘The Fall Guy’ has been earning praise with those who at the company have seen the footage), it saw him step away, concerned that the fast pace of the ‘Jurassic’ development meant he wouldn’t have enough say in its creative direction.

Fortunately for Universal, it has found an experienced, inventive filmmaker to actually take the job –– Gareth Edwards, whose credits include ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, 2014’s ‘Godzilla’ and, most recently, ‘The Creator’.

Jurassic World

"The park is open."

PG-132 hr 4 minJun 12th, 2015

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What’s the story of the new ‘Jurassic World’ movie?

Chris Pratt in 2015's 'Jurassic World.' Photo: Universal Pictures.

Universal is mostly keeping the details of the new movie trapped behind fences and concrete barriers for now. What can we predict? Big-toothed beasts causing trouble for the humans that foolishly interact with them.

A bigger question, though, is which humans… It’ll reportedly be set in the ‘Jurassic World’ era, but won’t directly connect to the previous three movies, so an appearance from characters such as those films’ Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) or Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howards) appears unlikely for now –– though we won’t rule anything out at this point.

From the sounds of it, this new movie would take the franchise in a fresh new direction, so we’re also not predicting (for now) the return of ‘Jurassic Park’ trio Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Goldblum’s chaotician Malcolm.

Who is making the new ‘Jurassic World’ movie?

Director Gareth Edwards on the set of 20th Century Studios' 'The Creator.'

David Koepp, who is slightly knowledgeable in the ‘Jurassic’ arena, having written both the 1993 classic ‘Jurassic Park’ (directed by Steven Spielberg) and its 1997 sequel, ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ (also directed by Spielberg, to less critical praise, but still healthy box office), is crafting the new movie’s screenplay.

Koepp, of course, has worked a lot with Spielberg, but is also a much sought-after writer beyond those collaborations (he has two movies on the way via Steven Soderbergh) and is a filmmaker in his own right.

Longtime producer Frank Marshall, who worked on all three of the ‘Jurassic World’ movies is on board this one also, and the studio seems bullish about the progress so far. And of course, Spielberg will weigh in since he helped birth the franchise.

Edwards seems like a good choice for the project –– he certainly knows his way around big franchise entries (though ‘Rogue One’ ultimately proved to be something he’d probably rather forget, even as it crossed a billion at the box office) and has worked smoothly with effects teams. Plus, he’s a thoughtful, creative director adept at finding the humanity in big concepts.

Yet he’ll be hitting the ground running (if not from Raptors) on this one, since production is scheduled to start in June.