Can We Clone Dinosaurs? A Scientist Just Gave Jurassic World Rebirth a Real Answer

And no, we're not talking about realistic CGI or "what if" fan theories. A real scientist was asked, and he gave a real answer: probably not.

Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal Biosciences—the company that made headlines for trying to "de-extinct" animals like the woolly mammoth and dire wolf—spoke to Screen Rant about what's actually possible. According to him:

"I believe that we are at this interesting junction where a combination of AI compute and genome engineering allows us to bring back extinct species. Now, there's not any dino DNA, because DNA degrades very quickly. The oldest DNA we work with is about 1.2 million years old from a steppe mammoth... but dinosaurs died 65 million years ago. I don't want to say 'never,' but I don't see a world where we will find intact dino DNA."

In other words: unless someone stumbles on a miracle mosquito preserved with perfect DNA (and even that's a long shot), the science isn't there—and probably never will be.

That said, Lamm does give Jurassic World credit for one thing: the gene-splicing. In his words:

"A lot of those animals that we saw weren't real dinosaurs. They were engineered versions of super dinosaurs. From a genetic engineering perspective... the genome engineering is pretty much how we do it in the film."

So while Jurassic World might not be cloning actual triceratops anytime soon, it's surprisingly accurate about the way modern science messes with DNA to cook up hybrids. Comforting.

Spielberg's Still Got His Claws In This One

Rebirth is being sold as a return to form—a tighter, scarier sequel that actually cares about the spirit of the 1993 original. That's partly because Steven Spielberg was heavily involved. Director Gareth Edwards (of Rogue One and Godzilla fame) told The Hollywood Reporter that Spielberg helped develop the storyline alongside screenwriter David Koepp:

"Steven was very involved in the film... He developed the whole storyline with David and basically had major input, as much as me, at the start. And then as we started filming... he was like, 'Gareth, go make your movie, it's over to you now.' A lot of pressure when someone like him gives you that freedom, because he's the reason I'm a film director."

So if Rebirth ends up feeling more like Jurassic Park and less like "Chris Pratt on a motorcycle with raptors," that's probably why.

TL;DR:

• No, we can't clone real dinosaurs (sorry).
• Yes, gene-splicing hybrid monsters? Surprisingly plausible.
• Yes, Spielberg was deeply involved.
• Yes, the movie drops July 2, runs 134 minutes, and stars Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey.
• No, there's still no scientific reason to open a dinosaur zoo.

At least this time, they asked a scientist before someone got eaten. Progress.