In 2022, Jurassic World: Dominion seemed to wrap up the reboot trilogy of the legendary Jurassic Park film series, throwing in all of the key-jangling we’ve come to expect from such Hollywood flicks. Breaching $1 billion worldwide, everyone expected another Jurassic World to come along at some point.

Now, following a two trailer releases, an ad spot at Super Bowl LIX, and plenty of interviews from the cast and crew, we’ve got a good idea of what to expect from Jurassic World Rebirth. Being called a ‘standalone sequel,’ for now, it follows a new ensemble cast and has been able to get the writer of the original film back on board.

Jurassic World Rebirth will almost certainly go big at the box office when it storms to cinemas on July 2, 2025, as, not only does it have a stellar cast, but it also plays into an endearing theme that audiences love. Basically, we can’t get enough of dinosaurs.

Fascinated by the Extinct Reptiles

The last of the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago, and yet, we can’t get enough of them. The awe-inspiring sight of their huge skeletons in museums never fails to get imaginations running wild. In media, several creators have sought to tap into this, with the most successful of them all still being Jurassic Park from 1993.

That said, even those deemed to have been flops have still attracted millions of people. The TV series Terra Nova from 2011 ran for 12 episodes, garnered 9.22 million viewers in the US alone on debut and held to a decent 7.24 million for its finale. Back in 2002, Dinotopia collected 5.7 million for its premiere. Ultimately, both were canceled after one season.

Dinosaurs have been at their most successful in two distinct arms of media. At the box office, it’s been almost entirely about what is essentially seen as the official brand of dinosaurs, the Jurassic series. Six films have made over $6 billion to date. That said, the Adam Driver-led 65 from 2023 only managed to collect $56 million worldwide.

The other arm of media that’s seen dinosaur success without the Jurassic branding – although, it does exist here as well with official products – is in the collection of slot titles. There are several that utilize dinosaurs in their themes, but easily the most popular is Raging Rex. Given the title, it was clearly inspired by Jurassic Park, too.

Jurassic World Rebirth Could be Different

Looking at the writer, director, cast, the ideas hinted at in the trailer, and the fact that it’s a standalone sequel – rather than the start of another trilogy – there’s a chance that Jurassic World Rebirth will offer something very different to the reboot trilogy. It will, however, follow the rules of what came before and won’t retcon them.

While the trailers have some nostalgia baiting – what with Mahershala Ali waving a flare to distract a beast – the hope is that writer David Koepp has turned back to the source material more to try to ground the story in good characters who make smart decisions. That’s what will ultimately underpin Rebirth as a good film or not.

Koepp has already said that one of the sequences that he and the original author, Michael Crichton, had to scrap from Jurassic Park’s screenplay has been able to claw its way into Rebirth. Many fans are hoping it’ll be the sleeping rex scene that becomes a tense chase across a river.

If the trailers are anything to go by, there’ll be a heavier leaning on horror and suspense sequences when it comes to the big Rancor-looking abomination, which would seemingly play into director Gareth Edward’s wheelhouse. His work on Monsters and Godzilla (2014) should help, but hopefully he also emphasizes the character moments and perhaps even a bitter-sweet end that made Rogue One among the couple of good post-2012 Star Wars entries.

Even if not, Jurassic World Rebirth is all but guaranteed to close in on $1 billion worldwide when it lands. Not only does it promise superbly realized dinosaurs, but Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali offer more than enough star power to bring in the masses. On July 2, we’ll see the appetite for dinosaurs on full display once again.