JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH's Original Ending Has Been Revealed By Director Gareth Edwards - SPOILERS

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH's Original Ending Has Been Revealed By Director Gareth Edwards - SPOILERS

Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing in theaters, but two versions of the movie's ending were shot, and filmmaker Gareth Edwards has now detailed what might have been before the studio stepped in...

By JoshWilding - Jul 04, 2025 02:07 PM EST
Filed Under: Jurassic Park
Source: Variety (via SFFGazette.com)

Jurassic World Rebirth is finally here, and while it's divided the opinions of critics, all signs point to the movie being a box office hit for Universal Pictures this long Fourth of July weekend. Next week, though, it will have to contend with Superman.

Depending on how things play out in the weeks ahead, Jurassic World Rebirth will either be a standalone adventure or the start of a new trilogy for the long-running franchise. If a follow-up does happen, it should help that the movie's leads, played by Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, live to fight another day.

However, that wasn't always the case. 

In the version of the movie you'll see in theaters this weekend, Ali's Duncan Kincaid appears to sacrifice himself while distracting the D-rex so his friends can escape. Moments later, a flare shoots up into the sky, and he's saved (you can read a full breakdown of the ending here).

Talking to Variety (via SFFGazette.com), Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards explained how the ending evolved and revealed what the original plan was for Kincaid. 

"It flipped back and forth a couple of times. In the draft I first read, he died, and I thought, 'That’s great!' We started to pursue Mahershala, and for whatever reason, it felt like, well, if we’re going to get Mahershala, we’ve got to keep him alive, right? But then Mahershala read it, and his only main note was, 'Can we kill him?' I agreed, so I joined Team Mahershala and we both pushed to have him killed; the script changed back to him dying."

"Whilst we were shooting, the studio said, 'Look, we haven’t got time to do a pickup shoot or any reshoots. Just to be safe, get some material, just in case we need him to live.' In my mind, I know how this works; whatever we film will be in the movie, so you’ve got to be careful. I thought, 'If we can do this, I want it to be the really classy version that I can live with,' so I started trying to imagine it and to picture some shots. The actors gave this amazing performance for this little section, and I really liked it."

"But, when we edited the movie and did the director’s cut, I ended up sending the version that had him dying. It went well, but the studio said, 'Oh, it’s great. But can we just see the version where he lives?' We hadn’t put it together, so we went back and edited that, and everyone just said, 'It’s got to be that.' We did two test screenings, and the reaction to him living, everyone was a lot happier."

Universal is clearly thinking about Johansson, Bailey, and Ali being the new faces of the Jurassic World franchise. Still, if Edwards is to be believed, no one has approached him about helming a sequel. Not yet, at least.

"The honest truth is we haven’t had a single conversation with anyone about it — not the studio, not the producers, not David and not Steven," he revealed. "No one’s said a word. I think it’s because we all don’t want to jinx anything. I personally think what the actors have brought to it is amazing. I loved what David wrote, so I think it’s all going to be OK. I’m very happy."

We'll see what happens, but Edwards appears happy with both the studio-mandated ending and how the movie came together when all was said and done. Whether audiences agree will decide what comes next.

Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing in theaters. 

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Irregular
Irregular - 7/4/2025, 2:09 PM
"Whilst we were shooting, the studio said, 'Look, we haven’t got time to do a pickup shoot or any reshoots."
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HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 7/4/2025, 2:11 PM
@Irregular - They literally just copy and pasted Billy's death/ return in jp3
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 7/4/2025, 2:17 PM
@HashTagSwagg - ITS ok ScarJo turns into a dinosaur in this one
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 7/4/2025, 2:27 PM
@Malatrova15 - This film should have taken place during the Jim Crow era
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 7/4/2025, 2:46 PM
@HashTagSwagg - exactly
Kevin Feige needs a hit after so much trash..an epic biopic of Al Jolson starring Sir Pablo LYLE should sufice AND even Get him His first Oscar ...director by ICONIC director Ryan "Bubba" Coogler of course
MCUKnight11
MCUKnight11 - 7/4/2025, 2:15 PM
Must be nice to have a fallback option after the fiasco with Blade.
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Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 7/4/2025, 2:18 PM
@MCUKnight11 - this slop Is not mucho of a fallback after an Oscar...seems like Mahershalla needs a Comeback AND i dont think It Will be Blade
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 7/4/2025, 2:20 PM
The movie was horrendous. Please stop.
BreakTheCode
BreakTheCode - 7/4/2025, 2:24 PM
@BackwardGalaxy - Wasn’t even that bad. Much better than the ladt 2 with Pratt.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/4/2025, 2:38 PM
@BackwardGalaxy - Every Jurassic World has been horrendous.
dragon316
dragon316 - 7/4/2025, 3:33 PM
@FinnishDude - first was good sequels not fun to watch excep for last one with original characters made it better
thedrudo
thedrudo - 7/4/2025, 6:59 PM
@BreakTheCode - Yeah, I dug this one and don’t get the hate. I’d say this is my favorite after the OG.

The last movie was literally about food shortage and people are not into this where they actually make the series fun again. Go figure.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 7/4/2025, 2:36 PM
You know....there is only one opinion I care about for this movie....And I have yet to see his reaction to this movie. Has he seen it yet???
TheLobster
TheLobster - 7/4/2025, 2:39 PM
Yeah another pussy move from a toothless forgettable Jurassic film like pretty much every other sequel aside from Lost World.
Godzilla2000Zer
Godzilla2000Zer - 7/4/2025, 2:51 PM
Just got back from I think they made the right call I'm looking forward to another installment I think this is the best installment since the first Jurassic World at least granted I like every single one of these films.
AlexGSpeaks
AlexGSpeaks - 7/4/2025, 3:05 PM
Ali dying would have been so cliche. I preferred him making it out alive. Also ScarJo's character losing all her friends would have been kind of a bummer.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 7/4/2025, 3:08 PM
@AlexGSpeaks -

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You're telling us that Mahershala Ali makes it out alive?

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thedrudo
thedrudo - 7/4/2025, 7:00 PM
@AlexGSpeaks - They set it up hard very early so them flipping the script on it was actually a surprise.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/4/2025, 3:11 PM
There's only 1 worse Jurassic Film in this franchise and it's Dominion
Nonameforme
Nonameforme - 7/4/2025, 3:12 PM
I'll just buy the blu ray. Whatever
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 7/4/2025, 4:07 PM
There are so many ways they could tell a scary Jurassic Park/World story without it being this global ending or saving concept. Here are some examples:

Jurassic Island "Set before the events of Jurassic Park, We visit the island of Isla Sorna (Site B) and learn why the island was abandoned"

Jurassic Island Chapter 2 "Set after the events of Jurassic Park 3, A group of Urban explorers decide to sneak onto Isla Sorna to prove that Dinosaurs are still alive and get more than what they bargain for when they are hunted by a relentless dinosaur"

Jurassic Island Chapter 3 "Set before the events of Jurassic World, InGen and the Jurassic Park group return to Isla Sorna to obtain vital dinosaur DNA needed to create their next attraction "The Indominus Rex"
vegetaray
vegetaray - 7/4/2025, 5:03 PM
Easily the best Jurassic-anything outside of the two Spielberg directed films. That being said…That’s a very low bar to clear

Might be time to think about a reboot that’s a more faithful book adaptation. A limited series on one of the streaming networks seems like the logical move but we all know if this breaks even at the box office then we’ll get another quasi-reboot / sequel.
AllsGood
AllsGood - 7/4/2025, 5:22 PM
I just saw Jurassic World Rebirth it's Good but not Great. Won't hold Superman or Fantastic Four: First Steps at the Box Office.

Great family movie for everyone. 4 Stars / 5 Stars

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Nolanite
Nolanite - 7/4/2025, 5:36 PM
This is just my opinion but I think they should just stop whatever they are doing and leave the franchise alone.

What's next? Go check out another island with dinosaurs who aren't friendly?

The dinosaurs are already dying so nothing makes sense.

Just come back in a few years and try again.

Nolanite out
kg8817
kg8817 - 7/4/2025, 6:33 PM
@Nolanite - The next step needs to be 8-9 episode tv adaptation of the Jurassic Park novel exactly how it was written for Peacock. No Spielberg choices like Hammond being a lovely old grandfather. Exactly how it’s written to the T.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/4/2025, 6:10 PM
Really enjoyed this movie , have to see it again to see if I love it.

The first act is clunky , but after they get on the Mosasaurus chase , it all comes together very excitingly. The set pieces were incredible.

And I actually liked all the characters and thought the actors did great with what they had.
The family on their side adventure was a nice touch for me, I didn’t feel like it dragged down the movie.

I will say I didn’t like the mutadons very much, they weren’t scary enough, they should have just brought the raptors back , idc if it’s repetitive lol
vegetaray
vegetaray - 7/4/2025, 7:07 PM
@MisterDoctor217 - Mutadons were meh to me too…Felt like they wrote the Raptors in there then realized the Raptors had been done to death in the franchise already. Made the call to “replace” them with something ~new~

As for the family…I liked how that played out as a side quest type of thing too. I wish one of them ended up with the main crew after the boat crash though. That way there would’ve been a more impactful scene when they all met up again for the third act.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 7/4/2025, 7:55 PM
@vegetaray -

Yeah I got that feeling too, that they had that final showdown at the end with raptors instead of the mutadons, and they just replaced them last minute.
Like they did the two headed raptor from the initial trailer. They might have even been two headed raptors at the end and they scrapped it lol


Yeah that’s true! Would have been nice to have the boyfriend stay with the main group and be suspicious of the corporate hack !
But I like his dynamic with the family so much that idk

I liked the family side quest a lot actually lol they were the most relatable to me
KingZero
KingZero - 7/6/2025, 5:20 PM
I think Dominion had some good ideas but was really bland. rebirth looked great but there no substance to it. The prologue was great, and I'd be more interested in pursuing the science gone wrong or exploitation of the technology but that would mean less dinosaur focus, which is going to divide audiences. Gareth Edwards is a great filmmaker, and I'd like to see a sequel with his full involvement from the beginning rather than being a last minute stand in director.
DemonTweeks
DemonTweeks - 7/7/2025, 2:31 AM
WHY DOESNT HE JUST THROW THE F**KING FLARE NOW!

prepare to say that while watching.

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