Jurassic World 5 Roars Back With New Director and Returning Fan Favorites for Universal’s Next Dino Epic
Dinosaurs are stomping back: Universal has locked in a director and lined up returning stars for Jurassic World 5, following July’s Jurassic World Rebirth — the fourth World film and seventh entry in the dino franchise Spielberg launched in 1993.
Universal made a mountain of money with Jurassic World Rebirth, so of course the studio is lining up another one. The next movie is coming together with a familiar director circling and a few of Rebirth's stars looking likely to suit back up.
What is actually happening with Jurassic World 5
- Director: Gareth Edwards, who just steered Rebirth, is in final negotiations to return, per Jeff Sneider's The InSneider. Before dinos, Edwards did Monsters (2010), Godzilla (2014), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and The Creator (2023).
- Returning cast: Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett, Jonathan Bailey as Duncan Kincaid, and Mahershala Ali as Dr. Henry Loomis are all expected to reprise their roles, according to the same report.
- Writer: None announced yet. Plot details are locked down.
- Timing: No release date. Trade tipster EmpireCity Box Office says Universal is fast-tracking for 2027 or 2028.
- Who is making it: Universal Pictures and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners.
Why Edwards coming back tracks
Rebirth worked. It is the fourth Jurassic World movie and the seventh entry overall in the franchise that started with Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster. It hit US theaters in July and pulled in roughly $868.5 million worldwide. Edwards has a knack for scale and creature logic, which is basically the job description for this series, so this is hardly a shocking move by the studio.
Quick refresher on Rebirth
Set five years after Jurassic World Dominion, the hook this time was that most of the planet had become a bad fit for free-roaming dinos. The ones that remained were surviving in equatorial zones that mimicked their old climates. The MacGuffin: the three biggest beasts across land, sea, and air in that tropical belt carried DNA that could unlock a life-saving drug for humans.
Johansson played Zora Bennett, a covert-ops pro hired to grab that genetic material with a handpicked team. Things went sideways when her mission collided with a civilian family whose boat got wrecked by hungry aquatic dinos. Everyone wound up stranded on a restricted island that once held a secret Jurassic Park research site, where they uncovered a long-buried, nasty surprise. For a franchise about theme-park dinosaurs, the pharma-thriller angle was one of the wilder swings this series has taken.
What to watch for next
No script announced means story details are probably still in flux, even if the studio is moving quickly. If Edwards finalizes his deal and that core Rebirth trio closes as expected, Universal has a clean runway to keep this era of the franchise rolling. Consider all of this a strong sign of where things are headed, not an official proclamation. For now, if you missed the last one or want a rewatch, Jurassic World Rebirth is streaming on Peacock.
Note: The director negotiations and cast returns were first flagged by The InSneider and echoed in trade chatter, with the 2027-2028 target window floated by EmpireCity Box Office. Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype also covered the developments.