The Jurassic World franchise is on the hunt for a new director as Gareth Edwards has stepped away from the next instalment over creative differences.
Edwards took the helm on last year’s Jurassic World: Rebirth, which saw Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey (and his tiny glasses) star as new characters on a mission to extract DNA from three living dinosaurs.
The film was largely a success, with global takings of more than $800m against an estimated production budget of $225m – but it’s now been confirmed that Edwards will not be back for more.
Universal Pictures appeared to confirm the news of Edwards’ exit in a statement, telling Entertainment Weekly: “We had an incredible experience working with Gareth on Jurassic World Rebirth.” However, according to the publication, Edwards left the franchise over “creative differences” despite initially being expected to return for a follow-up.
The Independent has contacted Edwards’ representative for comment.
open image in galleryThe director had previously shared his hopes for Jurassic World, saying Rebirth felt like the beginning of a new trilogy “in a way”. He told EW: “I’m not sure what [Universal’s] plans are, but it felt like the beginning of a brand-new chapter in this franchise.”
Edwards, a former visual-effects artist, made his feature directorial debut with 2010’s Monsters – a low-budget sci-fi, horror film – before taking the helm on the 2014 remake of Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.
Plot details for the Rebirth sequel are yet to be confirmed, but Johansson, Ali and Bailey are all expected to return, along with screenwriter David Koepp, a frequent Steven Spielberg collaborator who previously penned the scripts for Disclosure Day, Spider-Man and War Of The Worlds. Shooting is slated to begin next year.
open image in galleryThe film will be the eighth instalment in the Jurassic franchise, which kicked off with Spielberg’s classic 1993 adventure film Jurassic Park. The Oscar-winning director then returned with the 1997 follow-up The Lost World, before Joe Johnston took over to finish the initial trilogy with 2001’s Jurassic World III.
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Universal then launched its first spinoff trilogy with 2015’s Jurassic World, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard – and that time around, each film managed to bring in more than $1billion at the box office.