Speaking with
Coming Soon while promoting the Blu-Ray release of
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, producer Kathleen Kennedy offers an update on the long in-development
Jurassic Park IV. Last we heard, the fourth installment in the highly successful film series was set to be written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes), and producer Frank Marshall suggested that we could see the film released in a couple of years. Kennedy confirms that the film is currently being written, and she talks about the expectations in keeping franchises going as well as finding the right story.
"It's really hard to keep these things going when there's an expectation and a desire by the public and the audience to keep certain franchises going," Kennedy says.
"As filmmakers, we often sit there going, 'Okay. We have to answer the question, 'Why do another one?'' If you can't answer that question, you shouldn't be doing it. It's tough. We're trying to come up with a story that makes sense and isn't going to disappoint people and is, hopefully, going to get people excited and reinvigorate the franchise. We've got to start with a script and the story."
No director is currently attached to helm
Jurassic Park IV. Steven Spielberg has ruled out any directorial involvement, and although Joe Johnston (
Jurassic Park III,
Captain America: The First Avenger) has expressed interest in directing the follow-up,
it doesn't sound like he will be involved. Who do you want to see direct the next
Jurassic Park movie?