Director Gareth Edwards departs upcoming Jurassic World sequel over creative disputes

Gareth Edwards, who directed the 2025 reboot Jurassic World Rebirth, is exiting the franchise’s next chapter after disagreements over creative direction, according to a confirmation from Universal. The original film grossed $870 million globally and featured Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey in a story about a secret mission to harvest dinosaur DNA for a miracle drug. While the sequel’s storyline remains undisclosed, David Koepp is slated to return as writer and the lead cast is expected to stay intact.

Production is targeted to begin in 2027. The move follows a period of declining box-office returns for the Jurassic series, which previously delivered multiple billion-dollar entries under the earlier trilogy anchored by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.