Dominion was meant to close the book, but it seems Jurassic World is still getting another chapter. Get ready for Jurassic World Rebirth.
- AJ Van Beveren
- Jun 3
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 4
After only nearly 3 years since the release of Jurassic World Dominion, the apparent “Final Chapter,” in the Jurassic series, a new reboot for the franchise stomps into theaters to steal this summer's blockbuster title, Jurassic World Rebirth, directed by Gareth Edwards.
It may have gone unnoticed, but on August 29th, 2024, the film Jurassic World Rebirth was officially revealed to the world with a title card video posted across numerous social-media outlets. Then it was followed up by its first trailer on February 25th, 2025. This reveal shocked a majority of Jurassic fans, because it was the last thing anyone expected Universal to be releasing in 2025. After the financially dominant but narratively underwhelming previous entry, Jurassic World Dominion, was advertised as the end to the Jurassic franchise, which was prominent in most of its trailers, commercials, merchandise, etc, it would have seemed that this would be it for a while. Fans on the other hand knew all along that this was in fact purely a marketing stunt, as Colin Trevorrow (Director of Jurassic World Dominion) confirmed that more was to come by stating it himself pre-release, this of course clashing with the advertisements. Most expected a few years until another movie was produced, giving the franchise some rest, especially after such a hated release. However, Universal had other plans.
Unlike for most of the other movies, this time, fans are super skeptical. The last installment, which moved beyond the island and to our world, delivered a sub-par experience where evil grasshoppers that ate crops were the center focus of the entire plot, and not the famous dinosaurs which these movies are literally based, and promoted around. Yes, you got that right, a dinosaur movie where the whole story is about some bugs that put farms out of business. Thrilling. Even with the original cast of Jurassic Park joining the roster, which brought most fans out to see this film in droves, it still suffered from a bloated, boring, and uninspired plot that held little emotional, or narrative depth in its runtime of 2 hours and 26 minutes. Plenty of time to give long-term fans a good experience, and almost every second of it was wasted. Now, even though that movie forever stains Jurassic World's legacy, everyone has their eyes pinned to what could very well be the breath of fresh air this series needs, as Jurassic World Rebirth is held up on a high pedestal of massive promises.
Gareth Edwards, who has been hired to work on this film, is a very talented director famous for movies such as Rogue One, a Star Wars Story (2016), Godzilla (2014), and The Creator (2023), all films that are in most aspects, very consistent quality-wise, and known for their amazing visuals, stories, and scores. Rogue One is even regarded by many as one of the best Star Wars movies ever made. He aims to assure that the original magic of the older films is returned, supplanting the more, fast-paced, action-heavy themes of the Jurassic World films directed by Colin Trevarow and J.A. Bayona. Who should never be allowed to touch the franchise ever again. Especially Colin.
The cast compliments his expertise, as series newcomers such as Scarlet Johanson, who has wanted to be in one of these movies for over 15 years, finally gets her chance to lead a Jurassic film. Along with her, popular actors like Jonathan Bailey (recently featured in Wicked 2024), Mahershala Ali, and Ed Skrein strap in for a harrowing, dino-filled adventure. Skrein needs this too, because no one may ever see him the same way again after he starred in Zack Snyder's two additions to the long list of worst films ever made, Rebel Moon parts 1 and 2. Don’t worry Ed, unlike Snyder, Edwards will hopefully deliver with his next project. With all that being said, a question remains. Will he be able to make a movie so spectacular and rewarding to fans that it drowns out the horrible, mediocre screams of Dominion? Most people doubt it. Still, there is a lot of anticipation for a few additions that make Rebirth especially unique.
The island where this movie takes place, an infamous territory the protagonists will venture to in search of a powerful medical cure, is intriguingly different from any other setting this series has introduced. That alone boosts the plot, which involves the extraction of DNA from three massive dinosaurs from land, air, and sea, within the wild jungle terrain of a mysterious landmass. The island is very similar to Site B (Isla Sorna) from Jurassic Park 2 and 3, but the difference is, its stated in the trailer that this place is in fact “the research facility for the original Jurassic Park,” and where the worst of the worst were kept hidden from the public eye. You may be wondering, “what could possibly be worse than what they had on the previous islands?” Well, compared to Site C, all the other places seem like a cake-walk.
From failed experiments, to dinosaurs that were branded “too dangerous for the original park,” this island is home to many incredibly dangerous, fan-favorite prehistoric tyrants, such as the Spinosaurus, which hasn’t been seen since Jurassic Park 3 (2001), over 23 years ago. This iconic dinosaur has been given a new design, which tries its best to be deemed scientifically accurate, paying respects to the more crocodilian build of the real-life version. Interestingly enough, it still doesn’t stray too far from the classic style of the Jurassic franchise. For those who miss the old design, a recent Empire magazine (Meet The Distortus Rex: Jurassic World Rebirth’s Mutant Is ‘Like The T-Rex Designed By HR Giger’ by Ben Travis) hints at the return of the original Spinosaurus appearing for another round, stemming from a quote which reads, “Even Jurassic Park III’s Spinosaurus is back on the scene.” Alluding to the return of this famous genetic scourge. Speaking of failed experiments, fans noticed an intimidating creature which stood out prominently within the clips that Universal released. Debuting in the trailer, is this franchise's first ever, mutant-dinosaur.
Not to be mistaken as a hybrid, this amalgamation of frighteningly abnormal features is a failed clone that is to say the least, absolutely terrifying, and has grown to a massive size, as seen during one particular shot, where even just its arm towers above the rest of the cast. It’s no secret that hybrids and fictional dinosaurs have always been a controversial element to the newer films since 2015, and this beast, known as the Distortus-Rex (D-Rex), is no exception. People that have seen the trailer are on the fence about this movie's big bad, but admit that the D-Rex is probably the creepiest dinosaur-related antagonist to ever appear in the Jurassic franchise, and that says a lot. It's a wonder how Mahershala Ali manages to stare that freak of nature down without filling his pants, but again, he is eventually going to play Blade (Still waiting on that reveal Marvel).
The hope is that this surprising addition to the series doesn’t absorb the entire plot, something that this ugly behemoth's predecessors the Indominous Rex and Indoraptor (Hybrids from Jurassic World 2015, and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom 2018), are notorious for. Additionally, other less-reliable sources say that more mutants may appear in the film along with the Distortus-Rex, but of course, fans should take that with a grain of salt, because these leaks again are actually from other fans of the franchise, and not some whistleblower employee that was fired from Universal. The only reason I am mentioning these rumors, is actually because one additional mutant was confirmed through them, which adds some truth to the rumors. As a matter of fact, there is a big chance all this information is true. For now all that is certain is that data-collectors found the name of a specific mutant, the Mutadon, a combination of Pterosaur and a Raptor. That may sound crazy, but it was officially confirmed by David Koepp. So the leaks didn’t lie. It was only further cemented as the second trailer came around, showcasing its full design.
A lot of information for this film has as of recently been collected at Cinemacon, as well as through Universal’s advertisement campaign, which seems to mirror Dominions with its small teasers and long waits between reveals. From March 31st to April 3rd, CinemaCon 2025, taking place in Caesars Palace, LA, was reported to be the first place that the second trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth was unleashed upon the excited fans that attended. Reports from the event stated that this trailer was very well-received, the reviews coming from many publishing companies like Variety, and Deadline. Later in the year, on May 20th 2025, this teaser was finally unveiled to the public across all major social-media platforms. What it contained, and confirmed, was a ton of juicy details that leakers had already found, and all the buzz that Cinemacon kicked up. Practically all major theories were confirmed, everything but the reveal of the JP3 Spinosaurus, to many fans disappointment.
A specific scene, one of which was mentioned multiple times after the convention, where the Distortus Rex apparently, “ate a scientist,” was also shown in this trailer. This reveals that in support of the directors claims, the movie is going to lean towards a more horror-centered atmosphere, much like that of the original 3 films. Contrary to popular belief, the movie is not “rated R” as some hype-seekers were fabricating, but like the others, it is going to be a PG-13 release. And along with that “terror and fear” this movie will invoke upon audiences, there was also a scene with the appearance of an “adorable” baby Triceratops. Which is nice until you realize that it's scared of something, and that something is the D-Rex, erupting from the thick fog of the jungle to devour its prey. Guess there really is no room for wholesomeness in this one. With all that being said, trailer 2 has definitely driven more excitement for the film, packed full of impressive visuals, glorious cinematography, all tied together by an epic musical track, a blend of all the classic Jurassic Park themes, remixed to perfection. Aspiring chills from audiences across the globe.
For this section, here is a SPOILER WARNING:
Although it would seem fans have a good gist of the film, there are still things floating around out there that are shrouded in mystery, as popular leakers continue to dig up any tid-bits of info they can. One of the most popular rumors is the supposed Spinosaurus VS D-Rex fight scene that was discovered in “the script,” but nobody will list the source for such information, claiming they are in the “files for the film.” So don’t go telling all your friends this is happening just yet, it could be fake. Even after the second trailer, there is a sea of information scattered about the internet, enough to drown in, pertaining to this highly anticipated movie. There’s a lot of fake news, and a lot of truth, a healthy mix. The popularity of this movie comes as no surprise, since on March 25th, Fandango awarded it, “#1 most anticipated film of 2025.” This is surprising to most with everything else that's coming out this year.
This movie claims to have a lot of things going for it, but everybody found out with Dominion that Universal blatantly lies about the quality of their films all the time. “The epic conclusion of the Jurassic Era,” one of many examples where the company promises a whole bunch, but fails to deliver. Nevertheless it's best to go by some other aspects of the production, like scenes from the late Micheal Crichton’s original novel (Jurassic Park 1990) being adapted to the screen, and the promise that this movie will “return to its roots,” with the help of David Koepp, who is responsible for developing both adaptations for Jurassic Park and The Lost World directed by Steven Speilberg.
Maybe… this one just might surpass the last film -emphasis on the maybe- and even set a new standard for future installments, but only time will tell. For now fans wait patiently as the release date, July 2nd, 2025, approaches with thunderous stomps. Fingers are crossed that this one gives the series the rebirth it so desperately needs, and not a dreadful, one-time watch infused with cringe “hip” dialogue, that you’ll regret spending 15 bucks, and 2 hours of your life on, only to then never want to see or hear about it ever again. (Dominion, looking at you). Gareth Edwards, no pressure, but don’t mess this up.
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