‘Jurassic World Rebirth' Is a Love Letter to the Original—Here's When You Can Stream It
The dinosaurs are back. Over three decades (and several sequels) after Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park first roared onto screens, Jurassic World Rebirth arrives as a bold new chapter in the beloved franchise. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla), the film revisits the chaos of dino resurrection through a standalone story that honors the original while introducing a new generation of characters—and creatures. The film premieres in theaters today.
Set five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, Rebirth opens in a world where most dinosaurs have been pushed into isolated zones along the equator. Among them are three genetically modified giants whose DNA may hold the key to a revolutionary new drug. That premise sends a team of operatives, led by Scarlett Johansson's Zora Bennett, on a high-stakes mission to a remote island once home to InGen's most secretive lab.
'I saw Jurassic Park when I was 10 years old in the theater,' Johansson said in an interview with Today. 'It was so impactful—I was completely transfixed, mesmerized, carried away, terrified, all of that stuff, and it's part of the formative part of my childhood.'
For Johansson, the role is a longtime dream fulfilled. 'It turns out that if you harass Frank Marshall enough, you could get a job,' she joked, referencing the longtime franchise producer.
The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as museum paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, Mahershala Ali as government operative Duncan Kincaid, and Luna Blaise as Teresa, a girl whose family vacation gets interrupted by the prehistoric beasts. 'It's a whole new band of characters that nobody's seen before,' Blaise told ELLE of the film. 'It's a new story and a new chapter.' She added of her co-star Johansson, 'Seeing Scarlett man the troops and be the captain of our ship was awesome.'
Edwards, who grew up admiring Spielberg, leaned into the original film's feel. 'Jurassic Park is perfect pure cinema,' he told NBC. 'I never thought I could beat what Steven did. But I do hope we've made a film that's worthy of it.'
Rebirth was shot on 35mm film and filmed on location in Thailand and Malta. 'Thailand had some pretty serious creature critters,' Johansson noted to Today, recalling a jungle shoot interrupted by cockroaches and scorpions.
But the film's real monsters are the new hybrid giants. Among them: the Distortus Rex, or D-Rex, a terrifying blend of T-Rex DNA with influences from other movie monsters. 'There's a little bit of the Rancor from Star Wars, and some of H.R. Giger's alien in there,' Edwards told Collider. 'But there's also this empathy—we wanted you to feel slightly sorry for it.'
Not yet—but it's coming. Jurassic World Rebirth is currently playing only in theaters. However, as a Universal Pictures release, it will likely be available soon for digital rent or purchase.
When it comes to streaming, Rebirth is expected to arrive on Peacock after its theatrical premiere, following the Universal Studios' standard release pattern, though no official date has been confirmed.
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In the meantime, fans can revisit the full Jurassic saga from the beginning.
All six previous films in the franchise—Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom, and Dominion—are currently available to stream on Peacock. Whether you're a newcomer or just want to rewatch Jeff Goldblum say his iconic 'Life finds a way,' now's the time to dive in.
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27 minutes ago
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Jurassic World Rebirth: Reviews Are Mixed, But There's 1 Thing Critics Can Agree On
While the combination of Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson might be a guaranteed seat-filler when Jurassic World Rebirth hits cinemas, whether or not it's worth the trip to the cinema depends on which critic you ask. The first reviews are out for the latest instalment in the Jurassic Park series, with the most glowing suggesting that Rebirth is the best movie in the franchise since the original. Others are somewhat less impressed, though, suggesting that the latest iteration pales in comparison to the best in the series – and questioning whether it even needs to exist in the first place. And while one thing critics can seem to agree on is that Rebirth manages to hit many of the same beats as the best films in the franchise, they're less unanimous on whether that's a strength or weakness. Here's a selection of what is being said about Jurassic World Rebirth so far… Variety 'Entertaining as it can be at times, stripped of the silliness that tainted the second trilogy (but also the saga-advancing narrative), Rebirth doesn't necessarily make the same case for itself. The movie offers an updated version of the same basic ride Spielberg offered 32 years earlier, and yet, it hardly feels essential to the series' overall mythology, nor does it signal where the franchise could be headed.' BBC Culture (2/5) 'There is a definite whiff of staleness about the latest Jurassic film [...] Jurassic World Rebirth has major stars in Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, and better-designed creatures than ever, but so few thrills that it may be the weakest of the Jurassic franchise.' The Guardian (4/5) 'What a comeback [...] against all odds, these dinosaurs have had a brand refresh: a brighter, breezier, funnier, incomparably better acted and better written film, with unashamed nods to the summer smashes of yesteryear, that makes sense of the dino-spectacle moments that earn their place.' Empire (3/5) 'It's not doing much daring or different, but this delivers a fun, well-made summer theme-park ride, with fast highs and slow lows. Pleasurable, though it doesn't linger.' 'There are some mighty new monsters on the prowl, but this is primarily an assembly of recycled story beats.' Time Out (3/5) 'The best dinosaur action since Spielberg [...] the 'Rebirth' in this Jurassic World sequel's title is apt because this seventh entry is a renaissance of sorts for a franchise that looked ready to curl up and turn to fossil.' The Independent (4/5) '[Jonathan Bailey is as] charming as usual (see: Wicked, Bridgerton, his entire back catalogue), but also crucially nails the 'man who dedicated his life to dinosaurs sees a dinosaur for the first time' sequence. Former dinosaur kids may shed a tear or two.' Radio Times (4/5) 'Despite its popularity, [the Jurassic Park movies have] never quite seen any subsequent entry top that 1993 masterpiece. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the first British filmmaker to join the franchise, Rebirth comes close. A loving tribute to the spirit of the original, it's easily the best Jurassic in a decade.' IndieWire (C-) ' Rebirth doesn't do itself any favours by so frequently harkening back to the original. Bad as some of the previous sequels have been, none of them have been so eager to measure themselves against Spielberg's masterpiece [...] The Jurassic sequels were bad enough when they made an effort to evolve — they're even less worth seeing now that they already come pre-fossilised.' The Telegraph (5/5) 'Easily the best film in the series since the original [...] Jurassic World Rebirth is a giddy resurrection for a franchise many had feared extinct. While technically the seventh in the series about cloned dinosaurs running amok, it feels like a brand new thrill ride.' 'Audiences may not have run out of enthusiasm for what the Jurassic Worlds are selling, or at least they haven't yet, but the people tasked with making them sure are out of ideas. Rebirth, as though fulfilling its franchise's own prophecy, really does manage to be boring.' Little White Lies 'Even working at full pelt, there's just too much that's wrong and silly and derivative about this tired, tired run-out. The actors are competent; there are a few tasty zingers; the effects are seamless. But the whole enterprise just feels like the same thing we've seen over and over again.' LA Times 'A cold-blooded clone in which wonder has gone extinct [...] Hold on to your water glasses because you can hear the plot of Jurassic World Rebirth coming from a mile away.' 'There's a disappointing amount of 'same old thing' to Jurassic World Rebirth. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and the rest of the cast are intriguing and sympathetic throughout, but Gareth Edwards doesn't quite recapture his signature flair for grand-scale visuals, nor does David Koepp find the magic of his original Jurassic Park screenplay,'
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ranking the 7 Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films with Rebirth hitting theaters
As hard as it is to believe, we're already at film number seven in the Jurassic franchise as Jurassic World Rebirth roars into theaters across the country. Life has certainly found a way for the Jurassic films since Steven Spielberg's 1993 masterpiece, built on the continued audience interest (and lucrative box office return) in watching dinosaurs go rogue. Of course, no Jurassic film will ever touch the original, but we can still rank the six sequels against each other as we take in the latest the series has to offer. Let's do just that. Hold on to your butts. 7. Jurassic World Dominion Jurassic World Dominion has its moments, but the entire legacy sequel juice got squeezed out of the franchise with this bloated installment that tries to close out the Chris Pratt/Bryce Dallas Howard trilogy and bring back Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern back to the franchise all at once for the first time since the first film. Some of the dinosaur action is fun, but the film has a messy overload streak that's hard to deny. 6. Jurassic Park III Joe Johnston is an underrated assignment director, probably one of the best journeymen of his generation, but his Jurassic film felt more diverting than meaningfully digestible. The third act ramps up the tension and craft with a terrific scene in a foggy jurassic aviary, but the film jogs through the motions until it really starts running. It's admirably lean for where the series ultimately wound up, but it's evident there was only so much on the bone to chew on for the filmmakers and cast. Coming off two Spielbergs, it's a meaningful drop. 5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom J.A. Bayona understood honest-to-goodness terror as well as any filmmaker who has worked on one of these films not named Spielberg. While Fallen Kingdom opens the Pandora's box on the franchise gobbledygook that ultimately held Dominion back, some of the best non-Jurassic Park thrills await within. The erupting volcanic island and the dinosaur mansion hunt felt like two of the freshest concepts post-Spielberg, giving Jurassic World the same kind of darker sequel the original film got. It has its faults, but the best of it earns its stripes. 4. Jurassic World Rebirth After Jurassic World: Dominion maxed out whatever legacy sequel juice was left in Spielberg's original masterwork, Jurassic World Rebirth plays like a refreshing purification exercise. Shedding most all of the world-building established in the previous Jurassic World films, Rebirth feels like a genuine rebirth. The trouble with a Jurassic sequel is that you're constantly giving viewers variations of the same ride they took in 1993 or at any time since then. Read our review. 3. Jurassic World One of the biggest critiques of Jurassic World was a question of how would the people in this make the same grand mistake of the first film? Well, look around! History is filled with repeated mistakes, and Jurassic World is the best Jurassic film we've gotten in this century because of how intriguing it is to finally see the park in motion, to see just enough guardrails lasting so long to give this new meltdown a larger audience. Sure, you can knock the raptor taming all you want, but this is easily the best Jurassic film not to be made by Spielberg. 2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Spielberg seemed to know with his Jurassic Park sequel that he just couldn't recapture the awe and horror of his original masterwork. The ideas aren't as strong here, but Spielberg in his nasty sequel territory is always a fun time. He subverts your expectations with a gnarlier beast more likely to pounce at any given moment. This is easily the scariest Jurassic film, the one where your main characters feel the most in danger. Sure, this isn't one of Spielberg's best films by any means, but it's certainly the closest to gnawing at the heels of the original. 1. Jurassic Park Spielberg changed the game twice on the summer blockbuster, first with Jaws and second with Jurassic Park. The maestro's second masterpiece of a monster movie dealt with the wonder of nature and the devastations of creation under a false sense of control. The film masterfully balances its white-knuckle dinosaur escapes with heady rumination the consequences of playing God. A modern-day Frankenstein with sharper teeth, there is a reason we keep coming back to Jurassic Park all these years later and why it towers over so many of the major blockbusters that stomped in after it. Spielberg again redefined what it meant to go to the movies in the summer, and we're still seeking our mainstream movies to reach the high bar set by the T-Rex and the raptors.
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