Jurassic Park IV: Could It Be A Reboot Instead?

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Dr. Alan GrantA few weeks ago, Universal Studios put the production of Jurassic Park IV on hiatus until director Colin Trevorrow figures out how to capture the scale of the film within the movie studio’s timetable. Although Universal didn’t announce exactly why Jurassic Park IV was on hiatus, it is believed that Trevorrow and his writing partner Derek Connolly are re-tooling the film’s script.

According to one of the franchise’s stars, however, the new Jurassic Park might be a reboot instead of a direct sequel like the title would suggest. Sam Neill, who played Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, told the Dominion Post that he would not be part of the new film, and that “I’m told it’s a big reboot, a total re-jig.”

Sam Neill’s statement would seem to contradict what the film’s producer Frank Marshall said of Jurassic Park IV. Marshall said that the new film would be a direct sequel to Jurassic Park III, and would continue what was built with the prior Jurassic Park films.

Frank Marshall’s view of Jurassic Park IV was before Universal Studios put the film’s production on hiatus, however, so maybe the direction of the film will change once Trevorrow and Connolly figure out what to do with the film’s script. If the new Jurassic Park film turns out to be a reboot of the series, rather than a direct sequel, then it certainly has big shoes to fill. It would be compared to Steven Spielberg’s classic original instead of Joe Johnston’s serviceable third installment. Expectations of the new Jurassic Park would be as big as the dinosaurs Colin Trevorrow is trying to bring to life. On the other hand, Neill could simply have misspoken, or been mistaken.

Universal has postponed Jurassic Park IV’s release date and has yet to set a new one. Hopefully the film will be in theaters sometime in 2014, as originally planned.