"Jurassic World: Rebirth" New Trailer: Scarlett Johansson Leads a High-Stakes DNA Extraction Mission in Gareth Edwards’ Dinosaur-Packed Action-Thriller with Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey
This new action-packed 'Jurassic' installment sees Zora Bennett (Johansson) leading a high-stakes mission on a dangerous dinosaur-infested island.
One could chalk up the success of the Jurassic Park/World film franchise as the closest thing Hollywood has to the kaiju genre. The Jurassic films are perhaps Hollywood’s answer to the long-running Godzilla universe, minus the whole allegory of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, here’s an important distinction: Godzilla is a made-up, fictional monster born from the destruction of the atomic age, whereas dinosaurs once roamed and dominated the planet Earth. This gives the Jurassic franchise a foundation in both science fiction fantasy and real-world history, allowing audiences to bask in the horrific fear of monstrous creatures the size of tall buildings, but also adding an extra layer of subconscious anxiety—that humans might slip back from the top of the food chain. In a world where we control so much of our environment, this franchise taps into the primal fear that, despite all our advancements, humanity is still vulnerable to the forces of nature. The dinosaurs serve as a reminder that the Earth was once theirs—and could be again, if only for a moment.
And to be perfectly honest, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic Jurassic Park might have been the only film in the franchise to successfully tap into all those themes. Every installment afterward shifted focus more toward spectacle and action. What made the original film so iconic is that it expertly balanced the awe and terror of seeing dinosaurs back in our world with a subtle commentary on the consequences of humanity’s hubris in advancing science too quickly and the commercialization of such advancements. Spielberg’s Jurassic Park wasn’t just about dinosaurs running wild—it was about the cost of playing God and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the manipulation of life.
So, there’s a heavy layer of skepticism when we heard that Universal Pictures is planning to release Jurassic World: Rebirth this summer. It’s the seventh installment in the overall film series, starring Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett, a covert operations expert leading a team of researchers and scientists on an extremely dangerous mission to locate and extract rare dinosaur DNA from a dinosaur-infested island that has been forbidden for years.
As much as we wish this new film would include a bit of commentary about the commodification of medical science for corporate greed and self-interest groups, it doesn’t seem like that’s what’s happening here. Instead, it appears to be leaning more into the action and thriller aspects of the mission. With a plot centered around a high-stakes operation to extract rare dinosaur DNA from dinosaurs now living in the wild, the focus seems to be on adrenaline-pumping adventure. Which, to be fair, has worked before. After all, this is a multi-billion dollar franchise. And despite how we feel about the last three Jurassic World films, people seemed to really love these movies. Even the harshest critics might have to admit that dinosaurs are simply just freakin’ cool to look at on the big screen. And they just might be the perfect cinematic monsters to run away from, preferably in sheer terror while screaming bloody murder.
It’s the ultimate showdown between man and nature. Or in this case, woman, as Scarlett Johansson takes over the lead of the Jurassic franchise. This will also be a test of sorts to see if Johansson can successfully jump from the MCU to a new film franchise, where she is presumably the main actor at the top of the call sheet.
Joining Johansson is Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali, who plays Duncan Kincaid, a black-ops logistics expert with a long history with Johansson’s character, Zora. He might also be the only person in the world who can get her to the forbidden dinosaur island without causing a stir with authorities. They are joined by Wicked actor Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, who supposedly has some kind of connection with Sam Neill’s iconic character, Dr. Alan Grant.
The cast also includes Rupert Friend as pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs, who seems to be funding the mission, while Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, and Audrina Miranda play a South American family who accidentally find themselves stranded on the island. They arrive just in time for Zora and her team to come to their rescue as they, themselves, are attempting to escape the island in one piece.
Handing the directing reins is visionary filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who just might be working his way through every beloved franchise of his youth. First, he directed 2014’s Godzilla, which has since spawned its own monsterverse franchise, now including King Kong. Edwards then helmed 2016’s Rogue One, which, after the critical success of the Andor series, has become one of the top-rated Star Wars films of all time. He also previously directed 2003’s visually stunning sci-fi thriller The Creator. And now, he’s tackling the latest Jurassic film, which has been penned by Jurassic Park original screenwriter David Koepp.
So, get ready for a big summer packed with dinosaurs and superheroes. Which will reign supreme? Well, you’ll have to wait and see when Jurassic World: Rebirth stomps into theaters on July 2nd.
You can also check out a couple of newly released commercials, below.
Official Synopsis:
A new era is born. This summer, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth. Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind. Also starring acclaimed international stars Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp. Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades. Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member; Critics Choice and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family.
