What’s Next After Jurassic World Rebirth? Gareth Edwards on Where the Franchise Could Go Next
Could Jurassic World woo Edwards, a perennial franchise one-and-doner, back?
Every filmmaker can rattle of their personal list of seminal films that inspired them to pursue a career making movies. If they get really lucky, they might even get the opportunity to add their own chapter to a franchise that meant the most to them.
And then there’s Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), who burst onto the radar of Hollywood back in 2010 with his feature directorial debut, Monsters. A well-reviewed, original sci-fi film with scale and an emotional story, Monsters also garnered a lot of attention because Edwards kept the budget ultra low by taking on the roles of director, screenwriter, cinematographer, production designer, and primary visual effects artist.
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Fifteen years later, Edwards has since directed new installments in three of the biggest film franchises in the world: Godzilla (2014), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and now Jurassic World Rebirth. Thus far, Edwards hasn’t returned to any of that IP to make subsequent chapters.
Will that hold true for Jurassic World? NBC Insider asked Edwards about his interest in returning to the Jurassic franchise, and if he’s pondered where it should go next?
Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards hasn’t done a sequel - at least not yet
From the announcement of his hiring in early 2024 to the July 2025 release date of Jurassic World Rebirth, Edwards had little more than a year to prep, shoot, and complete post production on the film. That’s an extremely short window to birth a tentpole summer blockbuster. Admittedly still exhausted from accomplishing that feat, Edwards does want there to be a continuation of this new mythology for the sake of his equally dinosaur-obsessed cast. But he doubts it will be helmed by him.
"You know what, you can never say never. But honestly, I just tried to view this as one,” he said of directing the seventh theatrical chapter in the Jurassic franchise (the previous six entries are currently streaming on Peacock). "I approached it like just one movie. I do this one movie, and then it's a high class problem if it worked out."
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With 2023's The Creator, Edwards returned to developing and making his own original ideas, a path he says he'd like to pursue again. “Genuinely, the thing I keep thinking about and getting excited about is just doing my own thing and having a bit of a break. We'll see what happens."
What would a Jurassic World Rebirth sequel look like?
Jurassic World Rebirth certainly leaves the door open for more dinosaur adventures, within modern civilization or on the forgotten InGen research island of Ile Saint-Hubert.
Would Edwards like to see a series of standalone sequels, or prefer a continuation of the adventures of the characters in Rebirth, namely Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), and Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey)?
"I hope for Scarlett and Jonathan and everyone, I hope that all happens for them,” he said of the characters getting more adventures.
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“But as a fan, like a lot of people in the world, in my mind, I'm like, 'You know what I'd love to see, I would kill to see this version of a Jurassic…,’” he said of a very specific idea he’s keeping to himself. “That's in the back of my head as a fan. Let's hope they do something like what's in the back of my head one day. Who knows how that will happen but I'm rooting for that."
Either way though, Edwards is happy with Rebirth. "I've been very lucky and if it's one and done, I'm 1,000% cool with that,” he said with assurance.
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.
