Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters now, continuing the franchise with new characters and a new storyline. Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali lead a cast in a world where interest in dinosaurs is waning. A pharmaceutical company is looking to harvest DNA to aid in producing new medications, which sees the characters dispatched to an abandoned research island.
Jurassic World Rebirth rapidly shot to the top of the box office, already earning over $300 million in less than a week. However, reviews are mixed, with even some positive reviews hailing it as a mindless spectacle that can still hit the spot. Jurassic World Rebirth’s middling reviews show that the box office returns could be positive, but the quality of the stories on display continues to suffer. One big problem that Jurassic World has been dabbling with since 2015 is a lie that continues to hurt the franchise.
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Since Jurassic World hit theaters in 2015, it has been pushing the idea that audiences needed bigger, upgraded dinosaurs. It was no longer enough to simply have an operating park, which is a colossal achievement. The park’s cost-prohibitive nature and secluded island locale still remain barriers to entry for most potential visitors, meaning the world at large has still likely not experienced the revival of dinosaurs in person. Yet, a corporation interprets that as a need to play god, manipulate DNA, and create mutant hybrid dinosaurs to spur interest, rather than just make it more affordable.
The terrifying Indominus Rex in Jurassic World and the Indoraptor in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom brought this idea to life. Jurassic World Rebirth pushes that even further, having an entire research island abandoned, with its mutant hybrids allowed to run free. The most prominent new hybrid dinosaur is the D-Rex. But each dinosaur in the film looks to have genetic mutations, like the lengthy tails on the Titanosaurs or the Mutadons, which look to be a cross between Raptors and Pteranodons. While thrilling sequences throughout Rebirth feature the new array of creatures, the movie also veers from actual dinosaurs in favor of complete hybrids, more than any prior entry in the franchise.
One of the central driving forces of the last four Jurassic World movies has been the idea that interest in dinosaurs is waning, which simply isn’t true. While those stakes may have been established within the world of the movies, it doesn’t reflect real-world interest, as the last three films have all made over a billion dollars globally. Even the critically panned Jurassic World Dominion, which also left audiences disappointed, managed to clear that financial benchmark. Jurassic World Rebirth could be on pace to earn similar financial returns, meaning the lackluster reception of Dominion and the mixed reviews of Rebirth still haven’t stopped the money from coming in.
Jurassic World created hybrids to draw crowds. Fallen Kingdom did it for a weapons sale, showing even regular people and politicians refusing to help save the dinosaurs doomed to death on an erupting volcanic island. Dominion was more focused on mutant locusts than dinosaurs. All in all, the franchise continues to lean into hybrids when audiences are content with dinosaurs.
The problem, more often than not over the last few films, has been lackluster storytelling that squanders ideas, like human cloning and dinosaurs set free around the world. The studios behind the Jurassic films see the financial returns of the franchise and are content to pump out lackluster films, which continue to perpetuate an unfortunate cycle.
Even with evidence saying audiences should stay away, people show up. Yet, Rebirth continues to lie, telling them there isn’t enough interest. Audiences clearly love the Jurassic films, which still thrive off nostalgia for many. Viewers will show up for their tense and thrilling adventures featuring humans fighting to survive against dinosaurs. But the further the franchise continues, the fewer actual dinosaurs it wants to show the audience.
Rather than making billions, turning around, and then claiming waning audience interest as a plot point, the films should lean into the fact that audiences are still showing up for the thrills. The dinosaurs are the stars. They deserve a better fate than being tossed aside in lackluster stories that don’t inspire the rewatchability of earlier entries.
Scenes in Rebirth feel like they’re trying to inspire the awe of Jurassic Park, like the characters interacting with the Titanosaurus. However, the film misses what inspired that awe. It attempts to replace dinosaurs with mutants that can even feel out of place in what we have come to understand about this fictional world. The Indominus Rex still looks like a real dinosaur, while the D-Rex in Jurassic World Rebirth looks more alien, much like its inspiration in Star Wars’ Rancor.
All this feels unnecessary when the film’s best moments belong to classics like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and even the Mosasaurus. While the Jurassic World movies may continue to find box office success, they could risk alienating their audience if they continue to deliver lackluster stories in the inevitable follow-ups.
July 2, 2025
134 minutes
Scarlett Johansson
Zora Bennett
Jonathan Bailey
Dr. Henry Loomis
