J.A. Bayona ‘favourite’ to direct upcoming sequel to Jurassic World Rebirth

J.A. Bayona is reportedly the frontrunner to direct the next Jurassic World movie after Gareth Edwards exited over “creative differences”.

J.A. Bayona is reportedly the favourite to direct the next Jurassic World movie.

The filmmaker is said to be the frontrunner to helm the next instalment in the dinosaur film franchise after Gareth Edwards, also 51, quit the sequel to 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth over “creative differences”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bayona took charge of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2018 and the 12th highest-grossing movie of all time.

The Hollywood Reporter says it is not believed that he has entered talks with Universal Studios about working on the next film, but suggests that Bayona’s past involvement with the franchise could give him an edge in the running for the directing job.

Universal is making steady progress on the next Jurassic World movie, with returning writer David Koepp, 63, having penned the script and Scarlett Johansson, 41, Mahershala Ali, 52, and Jonathan Bailey, 38, set to reprise their roles – Zora Bennett, Duncan Kincaid and Dr Henry Loomis, respectively.

Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg, 79, and producer Frank Marshall, 80, have remained involved throughout the franchise.

In August, Deadline reported that Edwards had pulled out of directing the next Jurassic World movie.

An insider told the outlet that “Edwards will now focus on other original projects he is developing”, while “the studio is opening up the search for a new director”.

Universal released a statement following the report, saying: “We had an incredible experience working with Gareth on Jurassic World Rebirth.”

Edwards’ successor is to become the sixth director the franchise has had since the first Jurassic Park movie was released back in 1993.

The franchise was relaunched in 2025, with Jurassic World Rebirth making an impressive $872 million worldwide.

Deadline added that the as-yet-untitled new instalment is to start shooting in 2027.

Edwards’ exit from the franchise comes after he opened up about the effect artificial intelligence (AI) has had on the movie industry, after showcasing the technology in his 2023 movie The Creator.

Speaking during Amazon’s AI on the Lot event in May, he said: “I can’t see a reason why you wouldn’t become interested in this stuff as a filmmaker. It’s so clearly a tool that might be up there with the camera. It’s going to be better than CGI. “I’m excited, I hope you are.”

Edwards has also expressed a desire to create a hybrid generative AI film but has held off doing so because of the rapid rate at which the technology is developing.

He said: “It feels like this stuff’s changing every three months.

“It’s like we have to revisit the plan six months from now because it might be a totally different series of tools. And the things that… weren’t possible three months ago or six months ago, some of them are now possible.”