The Jurassic World Franchise Wrote a Check That the Rebirth Trailer Refuses to Cash

2025's summer movie season is officially going prehistoric, because the first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth is here. The seventh film in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first of a "new era" following the Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard trilogy, this new entry from director Gareth Edwards boasts an entirely new cast, including Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali. However, despite the impressive talent—including the return of original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp—the trailer suggests a potential step backward for the series. The world of dinosaurs promised in Fallen Kingdom and teased again in Dominion seems conspicuously absent.

Let's analyze what the trailer reveals and what it omits, and why the Jurassic World series might be missing its greatest opportunity.

The Jurassic World trilogy, while receiving mixed critical reception, has consistently delivered blockbuster box office results for over a decade. Global audiences clearly love dinosaurs. Even with Universal's apparent plan to retire the original World trilogy cast, more dinosaur-centric films were inevitable. The studio quickly assembled a new cast and crew, with Gareth Edwards (director of 2014's Godzilla and Rogue One) proving a particularly intriguing choice. Edwards' skill in conveying scale in VFX-heavy blockbusters, coupled with his CGI background, makes him uniquely suited for this type of four-quadrant film. This contrasts sharply with the indie-film darlings often favored by studios like Marvel.

The dinosaurs look spectacular in motion; Edwards' directorial eye and meticulous attention to detail regarding proportions and lighting elevate the visuals significantly, surpassing many recent visually underwhelming blockbusters. His accomplishment is even more remarkable considering the compressed production schedule—hired in February 2024 and already in production by June. While the trailer doesn't offer sufficient time with the new cast to fully assess their potential, the action sequences look promising, and the ample dinosaur screen time is a welcome sight (unlike the largely forgotten evil locusts from Jurassic World Dominion). Despite cautious optimism, a significant concern looms: the trailer’s apparent disregard for the "world of dinosaurs" concept teased since Fallen Kingdom's conclusion.

Another Island? Really?

The premise, once again, involves another island teeming with dinosaurs. While seemingly neither Isla Nublar nor Isla Sorna, this purportedly secret third location is described as "the research facility for the original Jurassic Park." Ignoring the inconsistencies with established canon, the film retreats to familiar franchise tropes by situating the action on a tropical island populated by dinosaurs isolated from civilization. This feels regressive, especially considering the previous trilogy's conclusion, which depicted dinosaurs spread across the globe. Universal's official synopsis explains that, five years after Jurassic World Dominion, the planet's ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs, leaving them confined to isolated equatorial environments.

This feels like an unnecessary course correction. Why invest so much in establishing a literal Jurassic World only to abandon it? Similar to Dominion's retconning of Fallen Kingdom's ending, Rebirth discards the series' most promising concept: a world overrun by dinosaurs. This creative choice is baffling, particularly as Rebirth aims to relaunch the franchise with new characters and ideas while repeatedly returning to the same well-worn tropes.

The established lore also suffers. Dominion showcased dinosaurs thriving in various global locations, from snowy regions to urban environments. If the world is so inhospitable, why did they appear unaffected in the previous film? The Malta chase sequence in Dominion, featuring carnivores rampaging through a city, was arguably the film's most creative and exciting scene. The Jurassic franchise is a reliable Hollywood bet, yet the opportunity to embrace genuine innovation and explore uncharted territory remains untapped.

The Jurassic franchise is a Hollywood safe bet, so why not take a chance and do something truly different? Perhaps Jurassic World Rebirth holds surprises beyond the first trailer. The film's original title was rumored to be Jurassic City, hinting at a setting the trailer may deliberately conceal. Regardless, the franchise needs to move beyond the tired tropical island motif. While not advocating for a full-scale Planet of the Apes with dinosaurs, a middle ground that showcases dinosaurs in novel environments is clearly needed. The success of Jurassic World Rebirth remains to be seen, but the franchise needs to prioritize innovation over recycled concepts.

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