Jurassic World Rebirth Director Gareth Edwards Reveals His Favorite Scene: "It's Like a Joke!"
Gareth Edwards tells us about the scene he’s most pleased with in Rebirth.
**SPOILER WARNING!! Spoilers below for Jurassic World Rebirth!!**
Director Gareth Edwards has played in the sandbox of many an incredible franchise, including Godzilla, Star Wars, and most recently, Jurassic World Rebirth (in theaters now, click here for tickets).
A fan of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park from his own childhood, Edwards said he was given the opportunity of a lifetime to make the latest chapter under the guidance of Spielberg and returning screenwriter David Koepp. The director and his cast, including Scarlett Johansson (Zora Bennett), Mahershala Ali (Duncan Kincaid) and Jonathan Bailey (Dr. Henry Loomis), shot on location in Thailand, Malta, London, and New York City.
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Luckily, they were all just about as crazy for the franchise (the previous six films are now streaming on Peacock) as Edwards, so NBC Insider asked the director what it was like to geek out with a cast that had equal reverence for all things Jurassic, and if he had to choose, what scene in Rebirth gave him all of the franchise feels?
Director Gareth Edwards on the MVP of Jurassic World Rebirth: Scarlett Johansson
Globetrotting to make a movie is exotic and exciting on paper. But to attain maximum authenticity for a Jurassic World film, that means hot climates, humidity, bugs, critters, and lots of bumps and bruises for the actors getting through their action scenes. Edwards said there was a great rapport between the cast and crew because of star Johansson, and that made for a much lighter set overall.
“Everyone had a lot of fun,” Edwards told NBC Insider. "It was stressful. There were days which were very hard, but there was a lot of joking around which is a top-down thing because Scarlett was having fun. She'd be singing between takes, making jokes and just messing about, so everyone else felt permission to do that."
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In fact, Edwards said he sometimes felt like a teacher that had just walked out of the classroom and all the kids start misbehaving. “I’d find I could only get them back if I actually said the word, 'Action!’” he laughed about his sometimes unruly cast. "It's only then they'd suddenly go straight into character. We just learned that they're not going to be in position until I say the word, 'Action,' so just deal with it."
Gareth Edwards shares his most satisfying scene in Jurassic World Rebirth
A dream job for Edwards since he first started making his own movies, Jurassic World Rebirth afforded the director the rare opportunity to add his own vision to the franchise. When asked what scene ended up being his favorite, Edwards initially balked and said, "They’re all like children, and you're trying to love them equally.”
But with further thought, Edwards explained that his choice actually stems from his reluctance to watch streaming television series. "I'll watch two or three episodes, and they're like, "Oh no, no! It gets really good in Episode 7,” he said of what he’ll often hear from friends who initially recommend a show to him. "And I'm like, 'That's seven hours of storytelling! It only gets interesting after seven hours?'
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"If you did that as a filmmaker, you'd never work again,” he stressed. "So, my favorite part of a story is the end. It's like a joke; the best bit's the punch line. Everything's building to this climactic ending and the feeling you have when it cuts to credits, so you want to end on the orgasm, in a way, of the whole movie,” he said metaphorically. "And so everything's working backwards from that.
"For that reason, I would say it's that very end scene,” he said of the sunset boat escape by Zora, Duncan, Henry, and the whole Delgado family. "I really like what the music's doing. I like the sound. It's really tranquil. It's very dreamy. I love everyone's performances, the lack of conversation and [how] the music builds. And there's a final shot of Scarlett at the end where she's just so exhausted, but happy. It's all in this beautiful light. I'm very pleased that the end is one of my favorite bits."
Jurassic World Rebirth is now in theaters everywhere! Click here for tickets! Catch up on the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies, now streaming on Peacock.
