Last month, The Hollywood Reporter revealed the first details on a brand new Jurassic World film in development at Universal. THR reported that David Koepp, who wrote the original screenplay for 1993's Jurassic Park and its sequel, 1997’s Jurassic Park: The Lost World, is currently working on the script for the latest installment.
Now, Deadline is confirming that David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) is attached to direct. Things are definitely moving fast on the project as the seventh film in the franchise went from being a far-off prospect to gaining a writer and director in just a matter of a few weeks.
Deadline is also confirming that the film is aiming to hit theaters on July 2, 2025, just a little over a week before Warner Bros. reboots its DC Comics cinematic universe with Superman: Legacy which hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
Cinema fans are certainly skeptical that the latest Jurassic World film will be able to meet its current release date as Koepp's script is reportedly unfinished but it's apparent that Universal is fast-tracking the project.
It was also reaffirmed by Deadline that the new film will feature a brand new cast as neither Chris Pratt nor Bryce Dallas Howard are expected to return. The original Jurassic Park cast, who returned in the latest trilogy, are also said to be absent in this latest iteration.
With Leitch in the director's seat, Deadline reports he'll deliver something, "unlike anything the franchise has experienced with previous directors and would certainly give the series a fresh new look execs have wanted since the development of this film."
Franchise veterans Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley are all attached as executive producers.
While critics weren't thrilled by the new Chris Pratt-led trilogy, each installment eclipsed the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office, indicating that audiences around the world are willing to show up for a mixture of old-school action and dinosaurs.
Interestingly enough, the project is not being described as a reboot which raises some interesting questions as 2022's Jurassic World Dominion ended with dinosaurs and humanity seemingly being forced to adapt to living side by side.
Fans of the original trilogy have called for the franchise to return to its roots, which typically featured a cast of characters being stranded on a deserted island with rampaging dinos.
It will be interesting to see what direction Koepp and Leitch take with what we can only assume will be the beginning of a brand-new trilogy. Will they look to recapture the spirit of the original trilogy or lean into the modern, human/dino coexistence of the most recent trilogy?