Dinosaurs wreaking havoc on a theater screen near you will never go extinct!
The next installment in the Jurassic World franchise is moving full steam ahead. We already knew that Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo are officially signed on to star in the upcoming feature directed by Rogue One and The Creator filmmaker Gareth Edwards.
Today, we found out via The Hollywood Reporter that two-time Oscar-award winner Mahershala Ali is in talks to join the movie as well. Those talks better wrap up soon, because production on the film is set to start in London by mid-June, which is just a couple of weeks away.
We don’t know the full title of the new film or much or anything about the plot, including what role Ali would be taking on. Given his credits (Moonlight, Green Book (pictured above), True Detective) it’s likely he would have a meaty role. This wouldn’t be his first foray into blockbuster franchises, however, as he voiced Uncle Aaron in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and is attached to a Marvel Cinematic Universe rendition of Blade, which has yet to go into production even though it’s been years since it was announced (though it has had a few rounds of directors and writers). [ed note: and even though it’s the easiest film concept in the world. Mahershala Ali, who is extremely cool, wears a cool leather coat and hunts cool vampires with a cool sword. WHAT IS HARD ABOUT THIS, MARVEL.]
But back to Jurassic World. Here’s what else we know: David Koepp, who wrote 1993’s Jurassic Park and 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, has penned the script, and Universal Pictures has set a theatrical release date of July 2, 2025.
