Gareth Edwards channelled Steven Spielberg for Jurassic World Rebirth

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.

With Jurassic World Rebirth hitting Australian cinemas on July 3, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the film’s director, Gareth Edwards about “imitating” Steven Spielberg, and the small event that happened in 15 years ago that led him to directing a Jurassic film.

Nick: Gareth, it’s such a pleasure to meet you! How are you going?

Gareth Edwards: I am doing well! And I’m sorry – I know it’s crazy early in the morning for you!

Nick: Gareth, there’s not many people I’d wake up this early for, but you easily make the list! I’m a fan of your work, and I’m really excited to talk about the film with you! When I heard Alexandre Desplat’s version of John Williams’ score, and even the font you used for the location texts, a huge wave of nostalgia ran over me! I’m curious to know, as a filmmaker, how do you find that balance of honouring aspects of the original Jurassic Park, but also distinctly make it feel like a Gareth Edwards film?

Gareth Edwards: Basically, I’m trying to do my best impression of Steven Spielberg! But it turns out he’s a bit of a genius and he’s really hard to imitate! So, every time I fail, that’s where a bit of me comes through. So, there’s a lot of me in this movie, because I’m just not as good as Steven! And there’s a lot of stuff here that’s more from my head. But I was desperately trying to do my best impression of the master.

Nick: I mean, Steven’s great, but if you’re what we’re getting as second best, then I think that’s pretty damn exciting for us as the audience! I spoke with Colin Trevorrow a few years back for Dominion, and he said one of the most exciting things about making a Jurassic film is it feels like you’re playing in a sandbox with dinosaur toys. Did that feel the same way for you, and how did having this childlike joy help you craft such a wondrous film?

Gareth Edwards: I’m actually really good friends with Colin! And on New Year’s Eve 2023, when it was turning to 2024, and I didn’t realise that I was going to be making a Jurassic film, I was with my girlfriend in Los Angeles, and she says, “What do you want to do?” And I was like, “I don’t know. Let’s just go to Universal Studios and go on one of the rides, or something.” So, we go on the Jurassic World ride, and when I came out, I took a picture and sent it to Colin going, “This is how I spent my New Year’s Eve!” You know, it’s very rock ‘n’ roll! But, obviously, getting close to 50, and not knowing it would lead to any of this!

And I think what he’s talking about, I totally agree with. It’s this really reassuring thing because people talk about how this is such a big, intimidating, scary thing to do this, but it’s weirdly not. Because when you’re a kid, you grow up and watch films like Jurassic Park or Star Wars, and you think the world is full of spaceships and robots and dinosaurs. Like, life is gonna be so exciting! You can’t wait to get older! And then as you get older, you start to realise it’s all this lie called “cinema”!

So, the second best option for me was to become a liar, right? So, if you’re lucky, you end up on a film set one day, and it should be scary and horrible, but it’s actually like going back to your bedroom and going, “Oh, there’s the spaceship. There’s the dinosaur.” And it feels like this is what they promised in the leaflet about life, right? So, it feels very reassuring and comforting.

Nick: It’s the magic of movies, right! So, the events of this film don’t happen unless a Snickers wrapper gets sucked into a vent. It’s this small, seemingly inconsequential thing that causes this insane chain of events. In a sort of parallel to your career – what was your Snickers wrapper moment? What was the small thing that happened that led to you making a Jurassic World film?

Gareth Edwards: That’s a good question. I like that question. Gosh. Do you know sometimes you go, “Well, I guess if that happened then I would have reversed and gone around here, and made this other thing happen?” But there are some things in like where it’s just an absolute, utter fluke, you know? I mean, like a real chance moment!

There really is a dotted link in my life where there was before and after that moment. For me, I made my first film for $250,000. It was a monster movie. And it was kind of an audition for this movie, to be honest. We had the world premiere at South by Southwest, and the projector broke during the premiere, and I thought that was the end of my career. But it didn’t last long and it started up again, but I thought it all just went wrong.

And at the end of the screening, this guy gave me a business card and I took it, and it felt like a consolation prize. I’ve wanted to do this since I was 10 years old, and I’m 35 now and it’s coming to nothing. I was like, really down. I went to do my first interview, and at the end of it there was a guy in the corner who came over and mentioned that he gave me the business card last night. His name was Mike Simpson and he basically explains that he’s an agent in Hollywood, and his mum lived in Austin, Texas, and he happened to be nearby, so he thought he’d watch a film, and he saw my film. Then he went on and told me, “I represent Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, John Woo, Wes Craven, and I’d like to represent you as a film director!”

I text him last night! He came to the premiere and it was a really, really nice moment. But basically, if his mum didn’t live in Austin, my life would be so different, you know. That’s my Snickers wrapper moment probably.

Nick: That’s an incredible story! I’m also glad you mentioned Monster, because I do love that movie, but it’s unfortunately the only film of yours that I haven’t seen in cinemas! However, I worked at a Blockbuster when I was 14, 15 years old, and I saw that movie because of the video store. So, I’m curious to know, what were the films you were watching or discovered because of the video store?

Gareth Edwards: I mean, we had a BetaMax player, so this is going back even further! My video store divided the story into BetaMax and VHS. And me and my dad would go every week, on a Saturday, and what would happen is my dad would take a film, and then I would be allowed a film, anything I wanted! I would watch mine first, and then afterwards, my parents would watch whatever my dad got. But sometimes, what my dad got was more interesting, and I wasn’t allowed to watch 15 or 18 rated movies. But, my dad would drink a glass of wine, and fall asleep, and I could basically watch these 15 or 18 films! I remember when I was six years old, I watched American Werewolf in London, and it totally messed with my head. I didn’t sleep in my own bed for years! 
But then it occurred to me, I never saw Star Wars in the cinema. I saw it on VHS. And it’s weird to look back and think my first time I’d seen such a film was on VHS. But what I would do, I would sit really close to the TV, and it would feel like I was having a cinematic experience. It was the same thing in my head!

Thank you to Gareth for his time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. Jurassic World Rebirth is in cinemas July 3.