News broke last week that Gareth Edwards has left the Jurassic World Rebirth sequel project over “creative differences”.
Variety reported the news, sharing a Universal statement which read, “We had an incredible experience working with Gareth on Jurassic World Rebirth.”
What went wrong with ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’?
Unfortunately, the experience of watching Jurassic World Rebirth was pretty dull.
This isn’t entirely Edwards’ fault, of course, given the script penned by David Koepp was messy – bumbling to and fro between separate plot lines with little to no guile.
It’s pretty shocking given that Koepp has written far more compelling franchise/big studio films such as Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man and the first Jurassic Park film, which is an all-time classic.
Jurassic World Rebirth lacked ambition, relying on the combined star power of Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey to lift a tired old remix of familiar beats from a drawn-out franchise.
Still, the three Jurassic World films before it each grossed over $1 billion, even 2022’s abysmal Jurassic World Dominion.
Moreover, Rebirth grossed over $872 million worldwide, proving that this franchise has staying power, regardless of the quality of the film put on screen.
Koepp, Johansson, Ali and Bailey are all expected to return for the Jurassic World Rebirth sequel, which the studio hopes to begin shooting in 2027.
How to improve things in the ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ sequel
With Edwards departing, Universal has an opportunity to try something new with its next Jurassic film.
Well, that’s as long as the remaining pieces from Rebirth don’t prevent that, as hiding within the most recent Jurassic film, there was something that felt unique.
That was the story of Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s Reuben, who, while taking his two daughters and his eldest’s boyfriend on a sailing trip, got them all stranded on a dangerous island of Jurassic Park rejects.
Rebirth yo-yos between this quartet on a perilous journey with the simple mission of survival, and the by-the-numbers, seen-it-all-before macguffin-chasing trio of Johansson, Ali and Bailey.
It felt like two films smushed into one, with both detracting from the other – and the family-in-peril storyline cruelly underserved.
This would have given something a bit fresher from the franchise, but the idea was squandered.
It’s concerning that Universal has decided to press ahead with its all-star trio of actors, which suggests a fresh new take on the franchise isn’t coming.
But what has 2026 taught us? It’s taught us that backing fresh creatives like Obsession’s Curry Barker and Backrooms’ Kane Parsons can yield incredible results.
2025 taught us the same with Zach Cregger and Weapons, with the director now given the keys to the Resident Evil franchise.
It’s reported that a script is already prepared by Koepp, and franchise stalwarts Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall have a tight grip over proceedings, too.
If all interested parties could loosen their grip and allow a young, up-and-coming filmmaker to bring a fresh perspective, the Jurassic World Rebirth sequel will be all the better for it.
Don’t play it safe; play it interesting!
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