It’s a good day to be a fan of dinosaurs. On Monday, news broke that Universal Pictures is actively developing a fourth , continuing the hit franchise that began with Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park back in 1993. Despite rough reviews for Colin Trevorrow’s recent trilogy of Jurassic films, the franchise is looking to continue on. This time, however, the studio is bringing back a couple of key pieces from the original film.
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Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp is penning the script for the new Jurassic World, with Frank Marshall returning as a producer. Not only that, but it appears Universal is heading in a brand new direction, starting fresh without the characters and stories of the previous films. The only thing missing is a director.
Universal is clearly making this Jurassic reboot a priority, and they’ll need a great filmmaker to help overcome some of the hurdles set forth by the last three films. Who that could be is anyone’s guess. Fortunately, there are a ton of incredible options out there.
Below is a list of 10 directors who would be fantastic fits for the new Jurassic World film. There are other great options out there, to be sure, and the list doesn’t include anyone who has major obligations over the next few years. People like Rian Johnson, James Gunn, and Matt Reeves would be awesome for this movie, but they’re obviously not available for the gig.
So, with that said, let’s take a look at some other great choices for Jurassic World 4.
Gore Verbinski
Every time there’s a beloved blockbuster franchise in need of a fresh start and a new director, Gore Verbinski is always the first person that comes to mind. Whether it’s Superman, the Fantastic Four, Transformers or Jurassic Park, Verbinski has the right set of tools to knock them all out of the park
If you’re not familiar, Verbinski helmed the initial Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. What he was able to do with those films shows why he’s such a great candidate for something like Jurassic World, creating a perfect balance of massive set pieces, unforgettable characters, solid humor, and one-of-a-kind creatures.
Getting Verbinski to return to major IP blockbusters may be a tall ask, but he’d do a great job at reminding people what they loved about the original Spielberg films in the first place.
Steven Caple Jr.
As far as up-and-coming directorial voices go, few have as much franchise experience as Steven Caple Jr. The filmmaker learned from the very best when he worked with Ryan Coogler to direct Creed II. He then went on to helm the latest Transformers movie, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Creed II and Rise of the Beasts weren’t massive critical darlings, but they were both good, and certainly showed how capable Caple Jr. is at helming big budget fare. Rise of the Beasts is one of the better Transformers films and Creed II is a good sequel to an electrifying film that many thought couldn’t be followed. Not to mention his Transformers work gave him a lot of experience with larger-than-life characters.
He’s as steady as any young director out there and taking on the Jurassic franchise alongside the original Jurassic Park team would give him his best opportunity yet.
Michael Matthews
After watching Love and Monsters back in 2020, my first thought was that I’d love to see director Michael Matthews take on a new Men in Black.
Jurassic World and Men in Black definitely aren’t the same thing, but the point is Matthews has a knack for approaching a big film in interesting ways. Love and Monsters made a little go a long way and looked fantastic from scene to scene. You can tell Matthews has an eye and that makes him a fascinating choice for everyone’s favorite dinosaur franchise.
J.A. Bayona
Yes, J.A. Bayona has already made a Jurassic World movie. No, people didn’t really love it. But Society of the Snow made it clear that Bayona is as good as he’s always been advertised.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom didn’t necessarily work, but that wasn’t Bayona’s fault. There was already an arc put in place for the series at that point, and Fallen Kingdom needed to set up the events of Dominion. He couldn’t really change what was already decided from a narrative perspective.
But when you go back and watch Fallen Kingdom, especially in the third act scenes throughout the mansion, Bayona makes a lot of compelling choices. He was able to bring in a horror element and create some of the more terrifying sequences in the franchise, making you wonder what he could do with these dinos if he were really let loose.
Dan Trachtenberg
Dan Trachtenberg was built for this moment. If you want an edge-of-your-seat monster thriller with rich characters that will have you both hooting and hollering, Trachtenberg is the director for the job.
10 Cloverfield Lane is one of the best thrillers of the 2010s. Prey proves that Trachtenberg knows how to reinvent even the most stale franchises (sorry, Predator). After a whole trilogy of lackluster dinosaur films, Jurassic World needs a shot of adrenaline, and Trachtenberg could easily provide it.
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Gina Prince-Bythewood is the epitome of a do-it-all director. Over the last 24 years she has tackled numerous different genres, with a wide range of budgets, and delivered something great each and every time.
Prince-Bythewood’s last two films show just how capable she is of taking on a blockbuster franchise. The Old Guard and The Woman King were both exceptional action films that rose above the rest and stuck with viewers after they’d ended. Both films are relentlessly thrilling, but it’s her ability to find the deeply human, emotionally charged moments within those stories that makes Prince-Bythewood stand out as one of the best directors working today.
J.D. Dillard
J.D. Dillard generated a ton of buzz for Sweetheart, his under-the-radar creature feature starring Kiersey Clemons as a woman on the run from a mysterious monster. The subtle scares he delivered in that movie made Dillard stand out as one of the next young filmmakers destined to rise up into larger scale studio projects.
He followed Sweetheart with Devotion, the acclaimed but underseen fighter pilot drama starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell. In that film, however, Dillard showed that he was ready to continue climbing up into bigger budget projects. He got great performances out of bright young stars and has a knack for pacing throughout a story. When you combine the creature elements he was already good at with what he learned making Devotion, Dillard feels primed for a monstrous adventure like Jurassic World.
Jaume Collet-Serra
Does anyone else want to see what else Jaume Collet-Serra can do without being attached to Dwayne Johnson? From House of Wax and Orphan to Run All Night and The Shallows, Collet-Serra delivered underrated gems across multiple genres and decades. He absolutely deserved a shot at major franchise fare, but both of his studio blockbuster ventures have come under the controlling thumb of The Rock. The producer/star wants things his way on his films and that leaves little room for a director like Collet-Serra to really work.
But he showed a lot of major flashes throughout Jungle Cruise, which stands out as one of Johnson’s better films in recent years. The adventurous spirit was there. I can’t help but wonder what Collet-Serra could do bringing that energy into a film like Jurassic World — without The Rock pulling the strings.
John Krasinski
Mostly known for his decade of playing Jim on The Office, John Krasinski quickly showed audiences that he might even be a bigger star behind the camera after releasing A Quiet Place into theaters six years ago. Both A Quiet Place and its sequel were ultra-successful monster movies that instantly clicked with audiences, so you can see where he’d have the necessary experience to handle the dinosaurs of the Jurassic franchise.
What makes Krasinski an X-factor is his history with comedy. His new movie, IF, will likely reveal a lot about the kind of filmmaker he wants to be. Based on the trailer, Krasinski’s work on IF has shades Amblin all over it, and he could be the one to return Jurassic Park to its glory days.
Steven Spielberg
Can you talk about Jurassic Park without talking about the GOAT? Before Monday’s news about a new Jurassic World film, I never would’ve considered Steven Spielberg returning to the franchise that he started, that helped redefine the modern blockbuster. But his Jurassic Park collaborators being involved in this new venture make you wonder if he’d want to play with dinos one more time.
Original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp and producer Frank Marshall are working on the new Jurassic World. Could they possibly lure Spielberg back into the fold? If you’ve seen West Side Story or The Fabelmans, you know that Spielberg hasn’t lost a single step over the years, and there’s absolutely no one fans would rather see at the helm of Jurassic Park than the man who started it all. Whether or not Spielberg is actually interested is another conversation entirely.
