Scarlett Johansson is reportedly on the verge of landing the leading role in Jurassic World 4, and it would be a small earthquake for the saga.
If the turnip Jurassic World 3 still totaled 1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, it signaled exhaustion and fatigue for the franchise (the first had grossed 1.67 billion, the second 1.31). Yes, exceeding a billion is beautiful, but Amblin and Universal are not fooled: change is needed. After finding his great new director for Jurassic World 4 after the departure of David Leitch, the studio announced the return of David Koepp to the screenplay.
Recently behind the friendly Indiana Jones and the Clock of Destinythe gentleman had in fact taken care of the first two Jurassic Park. But even more than the return of the original screenwriter of the universe, Universal seems to want to bet on a big headliner to relaunch the saga in the person of Scarlett Johansson.
Until they give us Jurassic World 3.2….
Johansson Park
Until now, the stars of the films were clearly the big monsters, whether it was the Indominus Rex for Jurassic Worldthe Mosasosaur for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom or the Tyrannosaurus in Spielberg’s original film. But if the saga placed a real star at the forefront, it could completely change because it would be unheard of.
Bryce Dallas Howard and especially Chris Pratt are well-known figures in Hollywood today. However, this was not the case for Pratt in 2014, the year the first one was released Jurassic World. If Chris Pratt began his rise thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy released in 2014, at the time of signing him, Universal had no way of being certain of his explosion. Take the actor for a trilogy was a gamble, and above all, we did not come for Pratt, almost unknown at the time, but for the dinosaurs. The dynamic could totally change with this new casting choice.
A project less focused on dinos?
Hiring Scarlett Johansson, on the contrary, means getting an actress who has been at the top of Hollywood for more than ten years. If Pratt and Howard had received $8 and $10 million respectively for Jurassic World: The World Afterwards, Scarlett Johansson has already hit 15 each time for Avengers: Endgame, Infinity War And Black Widow.
This could all mean one thing: what if the central point of Jurassic World 4 were no longer the dinosaurs, but its main actress (and the rest of the potential casting)? This would therefore be a drastic turn for the saga. It’s too early to tell if it’ll be the right one, but the team behind the film at least seems stronger than in the past.
