Summary

• Jurassic World 4 cast adds Manuel Garcia-Rulfo to join Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in leading roles.
• New director David Koepp will guide the new chapter in the dinosaur franchise, with screenplay penned by Michael Crichton.
• Gareth Edwards takes over as director for Jurassic World 4 after David Leitch departs to ensure creative vision alignment.

Jurassic World 4 is adding Manuel Garcia-Rulfo of The Lincoln Lawyer fame to its cast. Garcia-Rulfo is currently in talks to secure a leading role alongside Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, according to Deadline. Details regarding the characters they will portray remain under wraps, as does the official schedule for the commencement of filming.

With Jurassic World Dominion having wrapped up the previous arcs, a new chapter is set to unfold under the guidance of David Koepp. Koepp, known for his adept adaptations of Michael Crichton's novels into the original blockbuster and its successful follow-up, The Lost World, returns to pen the screenplay.

The directorial reins for this project have been handed to Gareth Edwards. He is best known for his work on Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. David Leitch, the original director of the project, spoke highly of Edwards.

David Leitch Opens Up About His Decision to Leave Jurassic World 4

Recently, Leitch opened up about his departure from the directorial chair of Jurassic World 4. During an interview with Happy Sad Confused podcast, Leitch shared insights into what led him to step away from the upcoming sequel in the storied dinosaur saga.

The conversation, which involved iconic figures like Steven Spielberg and producer Frank Marshall, was rooted in a mutual respect for the film's vision and the franchise's legacy. Leitch pointed out the importance of aligning with the film's creative direction and ensuring that the project would benefit from a leader whose vision was in complete harmony with its intended narrative path.

“We have the privilege of choice and that’s daunting. And it’s true though, and we’ve kind of earned it, in terms of the movies that we’ve made and the successes they’ve had, and hopefully continued success, but to be asked to be in those worlds, you want to take those conversations seriously, and we are creative to find our ways in to a lot of things. So it was a really great conversation to have, to be in talks with Steven and Frank, about that franchise that is so dear to us, it was a really beautiful time. Ultimately, you have to do what’s best for the movie at hand and do what’s best for you as an artist."

Leitch described the process as one laden with responsibility and gratitude. This choice, he noted, comes from a place of having contributed significantly to the cinematic world, thus earning the freedom to select projects that resonate most with one's artistic intentions.

Jurassic World 4 promises to usher in a new era for the franchise, steering away from characters that have long been the backbone of both the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series. This shift towards fresh narratives and new horizons seems to have been an important factor in Leitch's decision. The director continued:

"And make sure that you’re making the same movie, and you could do it within the parameters, and at some point we just said — we wanted to give that answer quickly because they have to go make this movie quickly that everyone is excited to see, and I think that they’ve landed on, obviously, a brilliant director, who we love and respect and… it’s gonna be amazing. [Turning down Jurassic World 4 was] surreal, but I believe we’ve earned this position [to turn it down]. And we’re privileged we are able to choose the movies we want to make, and we want to make sure we have the creative freedom to make those movies the way we want to make them.”

Jurassic World 4 is scheduled to premiere on July 2, 2025.