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.