So much for those rumors that Steven Spielberg might be ready to return to the director’s chair for a fourth Jurassic Park movie. Deadline now reports that Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow has stepped in to helm the next sequel, which already has a 2014 release date. According to the site, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) have written the screenplay, while Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley and Steven Spielberg are on board as producers. The fourth Jurassic Park will be shot and released in 3D.
Trevorrow’s name was in a few fan discussions swirling around potential hires for Star Wars: Episode VII, with the director himself saying at one point that he was circling a project that had ramifications for the geek community. Many assumed he meant Star Wars. Perhaps, at the time, he knew he was in the running for Jurassic Park 4.
Safety Not Guaranteed made my Top 10 list in 2012 for its winning blend of science-fiction and human characterization, so I’m thrilled that Universal is taking a chance on a filmmaker who is comfortable with dialogue and character, first. The same holds true for J.J. Abrams and Marc Webb, who started small with television projects or warm-hearted indies like 500 Days (of Summer) before being handed the keys to a massive, effects-driven franchises. Can Trevorrow handle it? I honestly don’t believe Marshall and Spielberg are going to hire a guy they don’t have mild faith in, especially for a property as proven as Jurassic Park. Now if we can somehow get Jake Johnson into the sequel, I’ll be 100% on board. Jurassic Park hits theaters on June 13, 2014.
