At the time of this writing, Jurassic World Rebirth has yet to hit theaters, but one promising sign is the man who will be directing the latest movie. He might have started with independent films, but Gareth Edwards already has plenty of experience with the pressure of reviving a blockbuster franchise. Additionally, he also strikes a balance in his smaller projects between emotional storylines and intense action, even with budget constraints. Finally, as Jurassic Park looks to return to a horror setting, Edwards is in a unique position to take advantage, since that is where he got his start as a filmmaker.
Gareth Edwards Is No Stranger to Monster Action, or Reviving Major Franchises
When it comes to franchises that have been overdone, one can argue Jurassic Park is likely among them. What was once a single masterpiece has evolved into six films, never quite reaching the status of the original, and it’s an idea that grows old quickly if not done properly. Arguably, the first film never needed a sequel, much like five, but they’ve all been huge hits, and money talks. If another one is going to be made and the series wants to avoid becoming stale, Jurassic Park needs a fresh face and original ideas.
This major dilemma is nothing new to a filmmaker like Gareth Edwards, since he tackled Godzilla at a time when the franchise had been dormant in America for years. Of course, the film itself was not perfect, and inherent problems with the genre remained, but its success proved he could deliver a fun ride and recapture viewer interest. Moreover, he never got too ambitious and made the story stand on its own, without blatantly teasing a sequel just for its own sake. For his big blockbuster debut, it was a great start, one that revived the brand into a cinematic universe which has become surprisingly successful even a decade later. Edwards himself never returned to Godzilla, but moved on to bigger and even better things, such as Rogue One in 2016. Today, it’s widely viewed as a bright spot in a struggling franchise, and it showed Edwards was far from a mere one-trick pony when it came to his directorial efforts.
Even With a Limited Budget, Gareth Edwards Can Deliver Scale and Heart
He might be known as a blockbuster director today, but Edwards has never forgotten his start in independent film, and he has returned to it fairly recently. Although it was a commercial failure, The Creator was also unique among his library, being a kind of science fiction drama with occasional action thrown in. Made on a budget of about thirty million dollars, the film looks five times more expensive, and it displays how Edwards can make the most of a limited situation. In short, he’s unique and creative, and when you’ve got as much money as a Jurassic Park film has, there is no limit to your potential.
Related
The dino film roars into theaters this summer.
Not only does The Creator have scale, but it also has heart. Godzilla was fun, yet even its most ardent supporters will admit it’s not Shakespeare, so one can be forgiven for fearing Edwards might not be able to deliver on the emotional character beats. In this story, though, he really does, and it’s difficult not to grow attached to the characters, both human and android alike, as they face further peril. Yes, Jurassic Park does not have to be a deep story, but Edwards has now shown he is up to the task if the situation calls for it.
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Could Bring Gareth Edwards Back To His Roots
When reviving an older franchise which has been done to death like Jurassic Park, you’ll need something new and fresh to make it stand out, and we’ve seen other franchises pull a page from that same book. Films like Prey and Alien: Romulus have both taken dead installments from the 80s in a wholly new direction, but how do you do that with a series about vicious dinosaurs? The answer, as the trailers have been suggesting, is obvious: Bring back the horror elements.
A route like this one feels particularly fitting for Gareth Edwards, who got his start directing Monsters in 2010 as an independent film. Given its nature, the movie could not rely upon big action sequences, but it used what it did have to create an enticing drama, with aliens that feel both grounded and foreign all at once. It’s a fascinating and bold debut from a young director who ran almost every facet of production, employing clever tricks and innovative techniques to create something truly special. Certainly, it was overlooked at the time, but studios took notice, and it got Edwards to the place he is at today. Now, he gets to revisit those very same emotions with the dinosaurs we know and love to fear, only this time with a much bigger sandbox and bigger stars at his beck and call. Time will tell if this kind of bold plan will work, but it seems like Universal got just the right director to get the job done.
Jurassic World Rebirth comes to theaters on July 2.