Credit: Inside the MagicUniversal Pictures is gearing up to deliver the next adrenaline-fueled chapter in the Jurassic saga with Jurassic World Rebirth, set to hit theaters on July 2, 2025.
Directed by Gareth Edwards (2014’s Godzilla) and written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park), this installment is shaping up to be a game-changer for the franchise. Steven Spielberg, who directed the first two films in the series and had executive producer duties on the last four sequels, is once again lending his touch as EP.
The star-studded cast includes Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton). Set five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the story revolves around a team’s quest to retrieve DNA from three dinosaurs for life-saving benefits.
But when they stumble upon a mysterious island, they uncover a “sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.”
Unsurprisingly, this vague but tantalizing line from the film’s official synopsis has opened the floodgates for speculation, with some ideas more grounded—and others wildly “out there.”
One of our own personal theories? What if InGen, the franchise’s infamous genetic engineering corporation, wasn’t the pioneer of dinosaur cloning after all? What if time travel, not genetic splicing, brought dinosaurs to life?
Before diving into our insane theory, let’s acknowledge that the concept of time travel would feel like an enormous shift for the franchise, which has primarily revolved around genetic engineering, corporate greed, and mankind’s hubris. Still, the synopsis mentions the team encountering a hidden island and a “shocking” revelation.
Time travel isn’t mentioned in any way whatsoever, or even remotely hinted at, but could it be hidden between the lines?
Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Accidentally Confirms the Deaths of Several Characters
In Jurassic World Rebirth, Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett leads a team tasked with retrieving DNA from three colossal dinosaurs, but things take a wild turn when they stumble upon this “sinister discovery.”
While natural dinosaurs—creatures that survived extinction without genetic engineering—are one plausible explanation, one which would also suggest that InGen lied about genetic engineering, let’s entertain the time-travel idea for a moment.
Imagine this: InGen’s founders never actually cracked the code for cloning dinosaurs. Instead, what if they discovered a means to travel back in time, capturing dinosaurs and transporting them to the present? Perhaps they’ve maintained this secret for decades, hiding it even from their own employees, who believed cloning was the foundation of the company.
This revelation would certainly fit the description of “sinister” and “shocking.” It would also explain how InGen managed to re-create ecosystems on Isla Nublar and Site B with such fidelity—perhaps these environments were replicas of habitats observed first-hand.
This twist could also tie into the series’ themes of ethical science. If InGen wasn’t cloning dinosaurs but exploiting them from another time period, it would reframe the company’s role in the franchise. Instead of being innovators who “played God,” they’d be poachers—ripping animals from their rightful era and dooming them to a world that can’t sustain them.
As such, Jurassic World Rebirth could be drawing inspiration from the latest Indy film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), which also features a surprising twist involving time travel.
Penned by none other than David Koepp (alongside three other writers), the Indy sequel embraced the bold concept of time travel as a way to reframe its adventure-driven narrative while staying true to the franchise’s core themes of history and discovery.
If Koepp is revisiting this idea for Rebirth, it’s possible he sees time travel as a fitting way to expand the Jurassic universe, introducing an unprecedented twist that would both challenge long-time fans’ expectations and explore new ethical and scientific dilemmas within the series.
While such a leap would be incredibly divisive, it would certainly be in line with Koepp’s penchant for pushing storytelling boundaries.
Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ First Official Trailer–Here’s What You Can Expect
Other Possibilities
Of course, time travel isn’t the only theory in play. The idea of natural dinosaurs—a possibility previously explored—remains compelling. Could the tropical island seen in Rebirth be home to dinosaurs that never went extinct, living in isolation for 65 million years?
Set photos featuring ancient ruins add weight to this theory, suggesting that the island may have hosted a lost civilization alongside prehistoric creatures.
Another theory speculates about human-dinosaur hybrids, a concept that’s been teased in the past but never fully realized. Could the “shocking discovery” involve InGen crossing ethical lines once again, this time splicing human and dinosaur DNA?
Another rumor now doing the rounds is that this twist involves a mutant dinosaur. Or perhaps it involves a virus—something akin to Michael Crichton’s DX from “The Lost World” novel—which could rewrite the franchise’s trajectory altogether.
What Does This Twist Mean for the Jurassic Franchise?
No matter the reveal, one thing is certain: Universal Pictures is positioning Jurassic World Rebirth as a bold new chapter in the series. Whether the twist involves time travel, natural dinosaurs, or something entirely unexpected, it has the potential to redefine everything fans thought they knew about the franchise.
The introduction of time travel would undoubtedly divide the fanbase. While some may embrace the creativity and ambition of such a twist, others could see it as a betrayal of the series’ core themes. However, it’s worth remembering that Jurassic Park has always been about pushing boundaries—whether it’s science, storytelling, or spectacle.
When Is Jurassic World Rebirth Out in Theaters?
Jurassic World Rebirth will be released in theaters worldwide on July 2, 2025.
The film stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).
What do you think the shocking twist will be? Could time travel really explain the dinosaurs? Or is InGen hiding something even darker? Let us know in the comments below!