New Jurassic World Rebirth Trailer Teases Scene Cut From Original Jurassic Park

A new promotional video for this summer’s Jurassic World Rebirth offers a tease of a scene that was cut from the original Jurassic Park. Featuring sound bites from members of the cast and crew, the primary objective of this video is to illustrate how Rebirth harkens back to the seminal 1993 classic, blending a sense of awe with a terrifying survival story. About halfway through the video, screenwriter David Koepp, who is returning to the franchise after penning the first two installments, opened up about a scene involving a river raft, discussing how it draws from the original Jurassic Park book by Michael Crichton.

“The sequence with the raft was in the first novel,” Koepp said. “One of the first things [executive producer Steven Spielberg] and I said was, ‘We gotta get that raft sequence in some place.’” Footage of Koepp’s interview is interspersed with clips of the scene in question, featuring characters frantically paddling in a raft. You can see the video in the space above.

The Jurassic Park novel includes a scene where Dr. Alan Grant, Lex, and Tim escape from a T-rex in a raft. During development of the movie adaptation, the sequence was storyboarded but never entirely filmed. It would have been a significant set piece for the blockbuster, showcasing the T-rex chasing its prey through the water.

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Jurassic fans have known the raft sequence would be featured in Rebirth since February, when producer Frank Marshall confirmed its inclusion. It’s one of many connections to the original Jurassic Park in Rebirth. Not only is director Gareth Edwards looking to take the series back to its roots with regard to the tone, Rebirth‘s main setting is where the original Jurassic Park lab was located.

The raft scene is one of the standout parts of the book, but it’s easy to see why it was cut for the film. When Spielberg was making the original Jurassic Park, CGI was in its infancy. His special effects team were pushed to their limits when crafting the dinosaur sequences that are in the final product. Due to the technological limits of the era, it would have been borderline impossible to film — even for Spielberg. Considering how famous and scary the scene is in the novel, it would have been disappointing if the filmmakers fell short of realizing it for the big screen. It’s better Spielberg & Co. held off on including it in a Jurassic movie until now, as they’re able to utilize today’s advanced tools to pull it off in a way that should be satisfying.

As Universal gears up for Jurassic World Rebirth‘s July premiere, it’ll be interesting to see if the raft scene becomes a bigger focus of marketing. Studios like to build trailers and TV spots around big-budget spectacle, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the raft sequence became a centerpiece of promotion, highlighting the film’s scares and scope in a single scene. That said, it arguably might be for the best if it isn’t completely spoiled before audiences have a chance to see Jurassic World Rebirth on the big screen. This has the potential to be a special moment for the franchise, and holding off for just a few more months could pay off in spades.