Jurassic World: Rebirth – please, no more stupid locusts!
Locusts? As if. The new Jurassic World: Rebirth trailer has finally given us what we actually want to see: hungry dinosaurs and overwhelmed humans. The franchise might not be saved yet, but at least it’s back in the game.
It can only go uphill from here. And by «it», I mean the Jurassic World franchise. Let’s face it, Jurassic World: Dominion proved it was possible to shoot a film that makes even Jurassic Park 3 look like an Oscar contender. And back in the day, that film was about as popular as a T. rex in a china shop.
In this first Jurassic World: Rebirth trailer, we finally get to see which direction the franchise is going next: backwards. And that might just be for the best.
Back to its roots
The film’s title, Jurassic World: Rebirth, pretty much says it all. This film’s supposed to breathe new life into the franchise. Set five years after the events of Dominion, Rebirth is a soft reboot, keen to shake off the confused, dinosaur-locust soap opera that was its predecessor. Thank goodness for that. You see, after the third film, the Jurassic World trilogy’s great promise remained just that: a promise. One that was never to be fulfilled.
In the first Jurassic Park film, Dr Alan Grant essentially gave us its finished premise in a nutshell: «Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution, have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?»
The guy from Pitch Meeting would definitely have liked that. But nah, we got locusts instead.
Locusts.
It really was an absolute stinker of a film.
Anyway, I digress. Let’s go back to the new trailer, which is essentially saying: forget dinosaurs in big cities, spare us the global ecosystem stuff, let’s go back to basics. To a group of people on a remote island with a ton of hungry dinosaurs. Job done.
And you know what? Maybe that’s exactly the right approach. It isn’t a new concept, but it’s worked umpteen times before. The sense of danger is palpable, the edge-of-your-seat moments real. Sometimes, you have to take a step back in order to move forward again. Director Fede Alvarez proved that just last year with Alien: Romulus:
The team behind Rebirth is more than just dinosaur fodder
Jurassic’s return to its old formula of childlike curiosity, a thirst for adventure and the sense that a wondrous creature (or a hungry predator) could be lurking around every corner isn’t the only thing giving me hope for the franchise. The team behind the film is too.
Director Gareth Edwards, known for visually impressive works such as Godzilla, Rogue One and The Creator, has an unmistakable flair for epic images. He’s supported by cinematographer John Mathieson (Gladiator I+II), who knows how to stage monumental scenes. Screenwriter David Koepp, who worked on the first Jurassic Park film alongside Michael Crichton, author of the Jurassic Park books, is also returning.
There’s no shortage of talent in front of the camera either. Two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali should be a breath of fresh air for the film, bringing in a higher class of acting. They’re joined by Bridgerton and Wicked star Jonathan Bailey. A cast like that is too good to be just dinosaur snacks.
Source: Universal Studios
I’m stoked. The new trailer demonstrates that you don’t have to keep reinventing everything. Ian Malcolm said as much in the first film: «Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.» Sometimes it’s enough just to steer clear of the wrong move.
Locusts, for instance.
Definitely locusts.
Header image: Universal Studios
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Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
