Like those generated by the distant, thundering footfalls of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the ripples being made by early publicity for the fourth Jurassic Park film are growing in size. We have slowly progressed from still images being shared on social media, through tiny snippets, to this first official footage from Jurassic World – before the full trailer is finally revealed, on Thursday.
The journey of Jurassic World to the big screen has been a long and tortuous one, with the film having been in development for over ten years. A sizeable list of directors and writers have come and gone, while names reportedly under consideration for casting have included Keira Knightley, Jeremy Piven, Emmy Rossum, David Boreanaz, John Krasinski and Josh Brolin, in addition to the involvement of original stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough having been rumoured at various points. The lengthy process sadly saw the passing of original writer Michael Crichton – whose book began the franchise – while filming on the project wrapped just days before the death of Richard Attenborough, whose memorable portrayal of the ambitious industrialist John Hammond anchored the early franchise instalments.
Jurassic World – the film that has finally crossed the production finish line after all those years – is said to be a reboot of sorts, and is directed by Colin Trevorrow, working from a script he co-wrote with Derek Connolly. This pairing is the same that delivered the excellent Safety Not Guaranteed in 2012. Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley and Thomas Tull are producing the film, and the cast that has ultimately been assembled includes Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, BD Wong and Judy Greer.