‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ director describes Scarlett Johansson’s role as non-gender specific

Jurassic World Rebirth shaping up to be one of the biggest and boldest entries in a long time Jurisprudence franchise. But it also marks the beginning of “a new”. Jurisprudence era,” which means we won’t see people like Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) again.

Heading the all-new cast is MCU star Scarlett Johansson as “accomplished covert operations specialist” Zora Bennett, hired to “secure DNA samples from the three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air” to pharmaceutical purposes. But when her team, which includes Jonathan Bailey’s paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis and Rupert Friend’s big apothecary, Martin Kreb, cross a stranded family on a dinosaur-inhabited island, she discovers “an eerie, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades”.

Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ accidentally confirms several character deaths

Casting Johansson is clearly no coincidence. After Chris Pratt led the charge in the Jurassic World trilogy, the filmmakers obviously wanted to fill that space. Johansson’s resume speaks for itself, but you only need to see the words “Marvel Cinematic Universe” to know that a) she can hold her own in an action-packed summer blockbuster and b) her name brings in the money. However, in a recent exclusive interview with Empire Magazine, Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards reveals that the film’s lead was non-gender specific.

Speaking specifically about Johansson’s character, Zora, she said, “She’s looking for meaning in her life after leaving the military, and this opportunity comes where (after it) she basically never had to work again” and that “through that journey, she begins to question the ethical rights and wrongs of what they are doing,” Edwards reveals that the role was not gender specific in the script and therefore could have been played by anyone.

Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Releases Official Never-Before-Seen Version of 1993 Film

Previous, Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters star Glen Powell revealed that he had turned down a role in Jurassic World Rebirth. Reportedly, Johansson’s fellow MCU stars Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans did the same. It is unclear what its role was, but although it is easy to assume that paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, played by Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey, it’s entirely possible they were approached to star in the film.

Either way, after fighting aliens from outer space like her Jurisprudence predecessor Chris Pratt (who plays Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the MCUs Guardians of the Galaxy movie) Scarlett Johansson is perfect to the job. And despite the role being non-gender specific, it will be refreshing to see a woman take the reins in a Jurisprudence film. While the franchise is filled with strong female leads such as Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards) and Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing had to share Jurassic World trilogy with Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady in equal parts.

“In the first ever meeting I had with Universal and Steven Spielberg,” Edwards tells Empire, “Steven was talking about how he had once met Scarlett and she had been super-keen to be in a Jurisprudence film. As soon as I heard that, I thought, ‘That’s the end of the meeting, right? Are you going to call her or should I?’ Luckily, she was totally up for it.”

After her casting announcement, Johansson, 39, went on to admit that she is a lifer Jurassic Park fan and explained how she has tried to get into Jurisprudence franchise for over 10 years. “I’ve been trying to get into this for the last, you know, over 10 years,” she revealed, adding, “and you know, it’s like, ‘Oh, you know, (I might) die in the first five minutes, I can be eaten by anything, like, I’ll do the shit service, like, I’ll do anything for it!’”

Looking at Gareth Edwards’ track record with monster movies (specifically 2014’s Godzilla which starred Bryan Cranston in a starring role that was cut surprisingly short), here’s to hoping that Johansson’s character isn’t actually killed off in the first five minutes. Nevertheless, she is definitely going to be pushed through in the upcoming sequel. Filming has spanned the jungles of Thailand and giant water horizon tanks in Malta, and some of the official stills shared by Universal Pictures show her down in the tall grass.

And that’s never a good thing in one Jurisprudence film.

When can I see Jurassic World Rebirth?

Jurassic World Rebirth will be released in cinemas worldwide on July 2, 2025.

Check out the film’s new logo below, according to the official Jurassic World X (Twitter) account:

Jurassic World Rebirth. In theaters July 2025.

Jurassic World Rebirth. In theaters July 2025. pic.twitter.com/CLUdLQPPfO

— Jurassic World (@JurassicWorld) 29 August 2024

The film stars Scarlett Johansson in the lead role (Avengers: Endgame), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), Luna Blaise (Manifesto), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), Philippine Select (Station eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).

Are you excited about Jurassic World Rebirth? Let us know in the comments below!