Jurassic World Rebirthwriter David Koepp teases how the new film builds upon its predecessors while introducing new ideas. Based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel, the franchise started off strong in terms of quality and critical reception. However, the more recentJurassic Worldtrilogy, while performing well at the box office, diverted from the horror and cerebral roots of its source material for broader blockbuster thrills, leading to increasingly negative reviews.Jurassic World Rebirthhas so far been teasedas an film that will bring the franchise back to the elements that made it exceptional.
Speaking withSlash Film,Koepp spoke about the new direction the franchise is headed in. He made sure to note that the new movie won’t be retconning anything from its predecessors, and that the new ideas were instead speculations about how the onscreen world has changed over the past five years. Read his comments below:
We didn’t want to deny any events that occurred. [The new film is set] in that world. But how might that world have changed in the last five years, and whose story is this now? So it was a chance to start over, and still play in this incredibly fun sandbox with the enthusiasm of a big studio behind you. It was the best of all possible worlds. And Steven and I got to do the absolute most fun part of filmmaking, which is, ‘Hey, what if…’ and then you just make up stuff.
What This Means For Jurassic World Rebirth
An Exciting Chance To Start Over While Respecting What Came Before
Koepp’s comments effectively paint a clearer picture of the new movie’s intentions and its relationship with the two previous trilogies. The groundwork laid by its predecessors presentsJurassic World Rebirthwith an established lore ripe with opportunity.It seems like the creative team behind the film is taking advantage of this, creating new ideas while staying within the sandbox that is the franchise, utilizing one of the most common, but also most exciting writing prompts: “What if?”
While the prompt is more commonly used to present alternate realities and outcomes of significant events within a franchise, almost feeling like fan-fiction — perhaps most prominently seen in theMarvel showWhat If…?— Koepp and his collaborators seemed to have taken a more canonical approach withJurassic World Rebirth.Their new ideasmight align with the powerful themes of the folly of man and the dangers of advancementalongside the horror tropes present in the first two movies of the original trilogy, thus paving the way for a fresh yet familiar narrative.
Our Take On Koepp’s Comments
Hopefully, The New Direction Isn’t Too Outlandish
A plotline for theJurassic Worldtrilogy was the weaponizing of dinosaurs with the intention of using them for war, something I found implausible and somewhat outlandish.As long as Koepp and his collaborators strayed away from such fantastical ideas,I can see myself advocating for the film’s success.
I do have high hopes, as the film is being helmed byGodzillaandRogue Onedirector Gareth Edwards, who has a knack for marinating his films in gritty and grounded tones. Assuming that’s what he was brought onto the project for, I’m confident thatJurassic World Rebirth’s ideas will return the franchise to its thought-provoking and terrifying form while steering it in a unique direction.
Jurassic World Rebirth
Cast
Jurassic World Rebirth, set five years after Jurassic World Dominion, sees covert operations expert Zora Bennett guiding a team to obtain dinosaur genetic material. Their mission collides with a stranded family on a perilous island, uncovering a long-buried secret.
