Steven Spielberg’s plate got a fuller this afternoon as Universal Studios closed the week with a bang in announcing Jurassic Park 4 in 3D has been green-lit for a June 13, 2014 release. Counting Star Wars earning at least three additional films just a few months ago and two of the biggest franchises in Hollywood have new life.
It was only a couple days ago when news broke that Spielberg had put the brakes on his Robopocalypse film that would have returned the legendary director to the Sci-fi genre. His reasoning for the sudden move was to rework the story and get it right rather than trying to rush into production with an inferior script.
Now it looks like Spielberg may have had a return to Jurassic Park on his mind as well that heavily influenced the Robopocalypse delay. He’s currently on board as a producer, but don’t rule out the possibility that Spielberg may decide to jump back into the director’s chair. He is currently committed to no other directing duties other than now-delayed Robopocalypse.
Spielberg has been talking about Jurassic Park 4 for more than a year now. In October 2011, he spoke with Empire and said that, “the screenplay is being written right now by Mark Protosevich. I’m hoping that will come out in the next couple of years. We have a good story. We have a better story for four than we had for three…” Maybe the canister Nedry lost will finally come back into play?
The current Jurassic Park 4 screenplay is being penned by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Considering June 13, 2014 is only 18 months away and this type of film requires a considerable amount of visual effects work, Universal, Spielberg and the writers are likely further along in the pre-production process than anyone outside the circle of confidential information had ever considered.
Universal will likely next seek out their Jurassic Park 4 director and then quickly begin the casting process, if Spielberg hasn’t already developed his list of candidates. Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger directed 2001’s Jurassic Park III, while Spielberg directed the first two films in the franchise.
If Spielberg chooses not to return to Jurassic Park as a director, who would you want to see helming the first new franchise film in over a decade? One thing’s for certain; it’s a good thing Universal called the Blu-ray box set “Jurassic Park Trilogy” and not “Jurassic Park: The Complete Saga.”
Source: Variety
