Jurassic World Rebirth’s director didn’t realise key scene was actually a dropped sequence from original

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The upcoming seventh installment of the hit dinosaur movie franchise, Jurassic World: Rebirth, is set to trample onto theater screens soon.

And it’s a concerted effort to move back to the tone of the original Jurassic Park.

Initially, David Koepp, the screenwriter who adapted Michael Crichton’s book for Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic film, has returned to handle the scriptwriting again.

Additionally intriguing, Koepp delved once again into Crichton’s novel to select one of its most renowned scenes that was left out in the original film – the whitewater rafting scene.

Originally, Dr. Alan Grant along with John Hammond’s grandchildren were navigating their return to the mainland on Isla Nublar, as chaos ensued due to the loose, genetically-created dinosaurs.

Thrillingly, a Tyrannosaurus rex pursues the trio while they navigate a river, creating one of the most exhilarating scenes in Crichton’s novel.

For Jurassic Park, the particular scene was contemplated and sketched out, yet eventually discarded due to excessive cost and the fact that visual effects technology was still in its early stages, making it unfeasible at the time.

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The director of Rebirth, Gareth Edwards (known for Rogue One and Godzilla), was unaware that Koepp had borrowed the sequence for the movie’s creation.

However, I recall fragments related to the waterfall scene [from the book, which appeared in Koepp’s script for the 1997 sequel The Lost World]. Yet, my memory of those details isn’t crystal clear because it’s been 32 years since then.

When I stumbled upon that raft scene in the script, I couldn’t help but feel excited. It struck me as a fantastic addition, one that made the entire movie worth producing, solely for this captivating moment.

In the film Rebirth, Scarlett Johansson’s character Zora spearheads an expedition to a distant island with the objective of gathering specimens from three massive dinosaurs. The goal is to develop a potential cure for heart disease using these samples.

Dr. Henry Loomis, played by Jonathan Bailey, the boat captain Duncan Kincaid portrayed by Mahershala Ali, and pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs, acted by Rupert Friend, are among those joining her.

However, another group, the Delgado family, find themselves similarly stranded on the island, confronting the T-rex upon its waking from its riverside slumber.

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until Edwards stumbled upon my book, “Jurassic Park: The Official Script Book,” that he learned about the river raft sequence. This book provides insights into numerous drafts penned during the script’s evolution as the production progressed.

During that period, Edwards was putting in long hours with his editor, Jabez Olssen, to complete Rebirth. In other words, we were deep into the editing process, and time was truly limited. We worked 14-hour days, seven days a week. On one particular day, we had to wait for certain things, leaving us with only about half an hour of free time. Consequently, Edwards and his editor decided to step out and take a break.

As a passionate movie enthusiast, I teamed up with my friend, and together we strolled into a local comic bookshop nearby. To my delight, my pal stumbled upon a coveted edition – The Official Script Book, hidden amongst the stacks.

According to Edwards, he returned the document to the office and upon flipping through its pages, exclaimed, “Here’s a river rafting scene! It seems to be from the original Jurassic Park!” This discovery left him astonished, remarking, “Wow, this is something Steven Spielberg apparently intended at one point.

Ultimately, due to financial constraints and visual effects considerations, they decided against it initially. However, later on, they incorporated that element into this film instead.

I’m relieved I didn’t know about it earlier, as I might have found it overwhelming and spent too much time analyzing the storyboards.

For Edwards, there was little doubt in his mind about joining the Jurassic project. He’d long harbored a dream of creating movies similar to those of Spielberg, as he admires him greatly and credits him for igniting his passion for filmmaking.

In my perspective, one of these segments revolves around our group’s endeavor to extract a blood sample from the ancient, aquatic monster known as the Mosasaur. This undertaking somehow echoes the chilling tale of the great white shark in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece, Jaws.

Did Spielberg offer him any tips on filmmaking, one might ask? In response, Edwards humorously mentioned Spielberg’s difficulties with underwater filming, hinting at the challenges he encountered while shooting “Jaws” in Martha’s Vineyard.

Edwards had no prior experience shooting on the ocean, acknowledging his inexperience with the challenges that lay ahead. Yet, the outcome was nothing short of breathtaking. “It’s a relief we didn’t give up.

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2025-06-27 16:35