Gareth Edwards, known for helming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the recent, John David Washington-starring sci-fi epic The Creator, is in talks to direct Universal’s latest instalment of the Jurassic World franchise. This follows news that Bullet Train filmmaker David Leitch has left the project after a very brief entanglement.

David Koepp, who was the writer of the original 1993 Jurassic Park and its sequel, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, had previously boarded the project as screenwriter. Jurassic World trilogy helmer Frank Marshall is also attached to produce alongside Patrick Crowley. Steven Spielberg is, of course, executive producing via Amblin Entertainment.

Since Gareth Edwards has also directed Legendary’s Monsterverse title Godzilla, he’s already well-versed in directing scaly creatures in big-budget movies, so can hopefully hit the ground running on the project. As reported, this next film will be launching a “new Jurassic era”, suggesting that Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard won’t be returning post-2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.

Universal has set the project for a July 2nd, 2025 release date (a very fast turnaround which contributed to Leitch dropping out of the film) so expect to hear further updates – on the title, cast, and synopsis, among others – soon. Stay tuned!