New ‘Jurassic World’ Movie Targeting Scarlett Johansson To Lead
Universal Pictures is not resting on its laurels after getting crowned the top studio in Hollywood last Sunday. The Donna Langley-led Comcast division was the box office king of 2023 and also took home the Oscar for Best Picture (among others) through Oppenheimer. Now, they’re prepping their next steps with a return to the Jurassic World franchise.
The pic, which Gareth Edwards will direct and David Koepp is scripting, is targeting a July 31 production start so they can meet their July 2, 2025, release. Pre-production has already begun, and now the studio is trying to lock down the leads. And here’s the hot rumor: Scarlett Johansson has been offered the lead after taking meetings with Edwards and producer Frank Marshall, according to Jeff Sneider’s newsletter.
The next Jurassic World film hasn’t received an official title yet, but Daniel Richtman is reporting that it will be titled Jurassic City, which itself hints at the down-to-basics approach that the studio is reportedly taking with this one. Because of that, the name of Johansson as the lead seems a bit surprising for a production that wants to cut costs as much as possible.
If Langley and her team want a more modest production that will allow them to reinvent the franchise, an approach similar to 20th’s with their latest Prey and Alien: Romulus movie would have been expected, where they hire an up-and-coming actress like Cailee Spaeny. Johansson is a much larger paycheck for the studio, though she certainly is a box office draw that will put the Jurassic brand over the top.
Sneider is taking this as a rumor for now. The actress is developing her feature directorial debut, Eleanor the Invisible.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
