It looks like the Jurassic World sequel has finally found a director after flirting with having David Leith helm the project. It has been announced that Gareth Edwards is in final talks to direct the next Jurassic era installment.
Per Deadline, Universal Pictures needed to move quickly to find a director given the fact that they have already set a release date of July 2, 2025. Bullet Train and The Fall Guy director, David Leitch, was initially in talks. But those discussions fell through when the filmmaker and the studio had different outlooks regarding the direction of the film.
Edwards met with executives last week. After impressing producers Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall with his pitch, an offer was soon on the table for Edwards. Pre-production is expected to start as soon as the deal is finalized.
David Koepp will write the Jurassic World sequel. Koepp also wrote 1993’s Jurassic Park and its first sequel, The Lost World. The story is expected to be a fresh take; it will not focus on previous cast members Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard or any of the original characters from the earlier movies such as Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum.
Edwards is no stranger to taking on big tentpole films. The director helmed Godzilla for Legendary and Warner Bros. which kicked off the “Monsterverse” that has spawned four sequels and an Apple TV+ series called Monarch, also produced by Legendary.
Following Godzilla, the filmmaker took on the Star Wars standalone film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which was a critical and box office success, grossing $1 billion at the worldwide box office. He just recently released The Creator from 20th Century and New Regency, which also garnered good reviews.
Source: Deadline
