'Jurassic World 4' Will Finally Take the Franchise Underwater

Jurassic World 4 (2025) will soon be a reality. Since the film was announced in January, news has been escaping containment at Universal Pictures faster than the dinosaurs escaped Jurassic Park after Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) turned off the power to all the fences.

Directed by Gareth Edwards, with a screenplay by Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) scribe David Koepp, Jurassic World 4 will reportedly star Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) icon Scarlett Johansson (Iron Man 2, Black Widow, the Avengers film series), who’s also said to be onboard as producer, alongside executive producer Steven Spielberg.

(Front): Scarlett Johansson in 'Lucy' (Background): The Jurassic Park gates at Universal Studios — Credit: Inside the Magic

Other actors currently being eyed by Universal Pictures are Monkey Man (2024) director and star Dev Patel and Bridgerton (2020) actor Jonathan Bailey. The film will be the seventh installment in the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World film series, and though plot details are being kept under wraps, rumors claim it will revolve around “hybrid human dinosaurs” on “an unspecified island” and that it is actually called Jurassic City.

Now, some official news gives us an indication of what we can expect from the blockbuster sequel. We know that Jurassic World 4 is heading to Sky Studios Elstree in the United Kingdom to shoot this summer, while a rumored return to filming on location in Hawaii persists (Oahu and Kauai previously doubled for both Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna throughout the series, with the exception of Jurassic World Dominion).

However, Times of Malta has now confirmed that the movie will also start shooting in Malta in July.

Alan Grant distracting the T-Rex with a flare in 'Jurassic Park' — Credit: Universal Studios

You’ll no doubt remember the exotic Mediterranean island from the latest film in the series, Jurassic World Dominion (2022), in which its capital city Valletta hosts the bizarre black market dinosaur scene and the nail-biting chase sequence that sees Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) chased by Atrociraptors through the bustling streets before they’re rescued by ex-air force pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise).

However, while it’s easy to assume that the film will be a direct follow-up to Dominion based on this information, unlike the 2022 sequel, Jurassic World 4 will not be shooting on location in Malta.

Industry sources have told Times of Malta that the production has booked “almost all facilities at the Malta Film Studios in Kalkara” and that it “is set to shoot between July and September” but that only “part” of the movie will be filmed there.

Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) in Malta on his motorbike in 'Jurassic World Dominion' — Credit: Universal Studios

The article adds that the Malta Film Studios offers “two infinite-horizon water tanks that film productions generally use for large-scale sound effects and underwater shooting.” From this, we can make a reasonable assumption that Jurassic World 4 will feature an underwater sequence, perhaps the biggest the franchise has ever seen. Who knows — this may even turn out to be more than just a single action sequence. Maybe Jurassic is about to change forever.

The long-running Jurassic series has yet to feature epic underwater scenes or fully plunge itself into the deep, but now, that could all be set to change. Jurassic Park III (2001) was the first to have underwater action, pitting its protagonists — Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan), Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni), and Paul Kirby (William H Macy) — against the deadly Spinosaurus while they’re heading downriver on Site B during a thunderstorm.

The Mosasaur eating a Great White Shark in 'Jurassic World' — Credit: Universal Studios

Fourteen years later, Jurassic World (2015) introduced the franchise’s first prehistoric marine reptile, the Mosasaurus, which breaks the surface a few times throughout the movie.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) spends the most time in the watery depths, opening beneath the murky surface of Isla Nublar’s “Lagoon” where a team of experts comes face to face with the Mosasaurus, and then later plunging Claire Dearing and Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) into the ocean in a Gyrosphere during Isla Nublar’s volcanic eruption.

It sounds like Jurassic World 4 could be preparing to spend even more time underwater. While the idea of a Jurassic movie set exclusively underwater sounds unlikely, there are many prehistoric marine reptiles that could fill its runtime. That said, it would feel like such a huge departure from the rest of the series.

The Mosasaur in the lagoon tank in 'Jurassic World' — Credit: Universal Studios

Up until Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom‘s midway point, the series has taken place either on the original island, Isla Nublar (AKA Jurassic Park), or on the “factory floor”, Isla Sorna (AKA Site B).

After the former was blown to smithereens by a volcanic eruption in the 2018 sequel, the franchise set up base on mainland North America — although Jurassic World Dominion mostly takes place at the Biosyn facility in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains, which feels like one of the previous films’ jungle islands anyway, so perhaps it is time for a big change.

Interestingly, in an interview with Collider last year during a press tour for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), Jurassic World trilogy star Chris Pratt, who plays Owen Grady, said he’d like to see the franchise feature more underwater dinosaurs, saying,

“I would say just given the advent of what we can now do underwater, I’m curious to see more about the Mosasaur. I thought that dinosaur was a wonderful creature, but I’d be curious a little bit more about the life of that fabulous creature. Maybe some more underwater dinosaurs.”

Maybe Pratt’s wishes will come true, even if he isn’t expected to return in the new sequel.

'Jurassic World 4' Will Finally Take the Franchise Underwater

‘Jurassic World 4’ Will Finally Take the Franchise Underwater

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