15 Years Ago, Jurassic World Rebirth’s Director Made His Debut With a Sci-Fi Movie Nobody Saw

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Instead of merely drawing from the past Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World Rebirth also pulls inspiration from films in Gareth Edwards’ personal directorial repertoire. For the past 15 years, British filmmaker Gareth Edwards has risen to international fame as a top science fiction director. His latest project, released on July 2, 2025 – Jurassic World Rebirth – is the newest addition to the iconic 32-year-old franchise. However, it’s worth noting that Edwards started his career with a low-budget monster movie he made in 2010.

In “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” director Gareth Edwards introduces fresh characters such as Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a pharmaceutical salesman, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). They’re hired to journey to an island teeming with dinosaurs to gather DNA for a cutting-edge treatment targeting heart disease. The narrative of “Rebirth” marks a departure from the franchise norm, and its visual effects are more stunning than ever. This visual flair is reminiscent of Edwards’ work even in his debut film, 2010’s “Monsters.

2010’s Monsters Was Gareth Edwards’ Directorial Debut

Back in 2010, on December 3rd, I found myself standing at the birth of something truly remarkable – ‘Monsters’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Though he may not have been a household name yet, his resume boasted a TV movie (‘End Day’) and a short film (‘Factory Farmed’) under his belt. However, it was his background in visual effects that truly set ‘Monsters’ apart. With stints on shows like ‘Nova’, ‘Perfect Disaster’, and ‘Heroes and Villains’, Edwards infused every scene with his VFX expertise. In this film, Scoot McNairy took on the role of Andrew Kaulder, a photojournalist who was entrusted with a mission: to escort his employer’s daughter, Samantha Wynden (Whitney Able), from Central America to the U.S., navigating through a perilous alien-infested quarantine zone.

During the quarantine enforced across much of Mexico, Andrew and Samantha embarked on their trek towards the U.S. border, where they encountered extraterrestrial life, transported to Earth aboard a wrecked NASA spacecraft. Ignoring the imposing boundary wall between the quarantine zone and the U.S., they witnessed destruction and catastrophe on either side of it. Unfortunately, their adventure did not culminate in a joyful resolution. Gareth Edwards’ movie Monsters, his first feature film, showcased his impressive visual effects prowess and laid the groundwork for his future work.

Monsters’ Shoestring Budget Made It An Even More Powerful Sci-Fi Movie

The idea for Monsters emerged when director Gareth Edwards witnessed fishermen hauling a net, and envisioned a creature lurking within. Vertigo Films backed the project, granting Edwards full creative autonomy as he served as writer, director, cinematographer, and special effects artist. Utilizing off-the-shelf technology, he singlehandedly created every visual effect for the 2010 film. Despite a meager budget of just $500,000, this modest investment significantly enhanced the movie’s quality. The aliens and environment were portrayed realistically, with each digital sign, piece of graffiti, fictional landmark, and scene of destruction painstakingly crafted to perfection.

Moreover, the majority of the extras in the film “Monsters” were locals from the filming sites who agreed to perform without scripts, using spontaneous lines and impromptu dialogue instead. Filming occurred across five distinct locations: Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the U.S. However, permission was not granted for filming in all of these locations, and the crew consisted of only seven members, including Edwards, McNairy, Able, a sound operator, a line producer, a fixer, and a driver. This gave “Monsters” an authentic, realistic, intimate, and quiet feel, despite its vast and transformative storyline.

How Monsters May Have Inspired Jurassic World Rebirth

The 2010 film “Monsters” earned a modest $4.2 million at the worldwide box office, reaching only a small audience compared to Gareth Edwards’ latest project, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which has already grossed an impressive $318.3 million as of July 6, 2025, on a production budget of $180 million. This bodes well for the future of the franchise. Despite the significant disparity in earnings between “Monsters” and “Jurassic World Rebirth,” it is possible that the latter was influenced by Gareth Edwards’ work on the former, as both stories involve a group of characters venturing into an isolated zone teeming with dangerous creatures.

In “Jurassic World: Dominion,” a departure from the franchise’s traditional use of animatronics and puppet dinosaurs was noticeable, a technique that had been a hallmark since Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film “Jurassic Park.” Once again, director Colin Trevorrow showcased his visual effects prowess, as he had in films like “Monsters,” “Godzilla,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and “The Creator.” The movie’s portrayal of mutated dinosaurs and genetic errors gave it a feel more akin to a monster movie compared to previous Jurassic films, making it resemble “Monsters” more closely and demonstrating Trevorrow’s affinity for the genre.

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2025-07-08 22:40