Jurassic World Rebirth has a sequence from the first Jurassic Park novel that didn’t make it into 1993’s seminal Jurassic Park movie, its writer has confirmed.
Speaking to Variety, David Koepp, who wrote the screenplay for the seminal Jurassic Park and returned to pen this summer’s Jurassic World Rebirth, said he re-read Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park novels to get back in the game, given there’s no source novel to draw on for this sequel.
As a result, Koepp “did take some things from them,” and one of those things is a sequence from the first novel that went unused until now.
“There was a sequence from the first novel that we’d always wanted in the original movie, but didn’t have room for,” Koepp revealed. “We were like, ‘Hey, we get to use that now.’ “
Koepp failed to reveal the sequence in question, but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating. And amid that speculation a number of scenes have emerged as most likely.
Warning! Spoilers for the first Jurassic Park novel and potentially Jurassic World Rebirth follow:
Some believe it’s the river rafter scene from Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, which inspired the Jurassic Park River Adventure ride at Universal Studios theme parks. In the novel, Grant, Lex, and Tim float down a jungle river in a raft, encountering dinosaurs and discovering secrets about the park. However, this scene was sort of done in 2001’s Jurassic Park 3, so the filmmakers may not have wanted to retread old ground here.
Gee, wonder what it could be. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/cg7RP96sca
— Mikey Palacios (@ForbiddenArms) January 26, 2025
Rivar Chase! pic.twitter.com/ppIcsQfjHN
— Aulox.ron | KIND (@AuloxNFT) January 26, 2025
But there’s one scene in particular from the original, more horror-oriented novel that some are suggesting may make it into the summer blockbuster, even if it is pretty disurbing. In the book, a group of Procompsognathus eat a newborn baby in its crib. Could Jurassic World Rebirth actually go there?
It’s definitely the baby in the crib sequence. 1993 wasn’t gonna tolerate that, but I guess people will now.
— Walter Strongkite (@Headlines_Fix) January 26, 2025
In August, Universal Pictures unveiled a batch of new details and images from Gareth Edwards’ star-studded Jurassic Park movie. The film takes place five years after the events of the Chris Pratt-led trilogy concluded with Jurassic World Dominion in 2022. Universal also confirmed that the story will follow a team “racing to secure DNA samples from the three most colossal creatures across land, sea, and air.”
“Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs,” an official description of the film reads. “Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.”
Marvel alum Scarlett Johansson will star in the film alongside Moonlight and Green Book’s Mahershala Ali and Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey. Johansson plays Zora Bennett, a covert operations expert who leads Jurassic World Rebirth’s team. Universal teased that her journey will cross paths with a family left stranded by aquatic dinosaurs, but the beasts that put them in this situation sound like they’re just the beginning of the hidden horrors lying just around the corner. Ali plays Duncan Kincaid, who is described as “Zora’s most trusted team leader,” while Bailey plays a paleontologist named Dr. Henry Loomis.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
