Bayona Emerges as Frontrunner to Direct Jurassic World 5

Overview

• Industry reports published Wednesday identify director J. A. Bayona as Universal’s leading candidate for the untitled sequel and say screenwriter David Koepp has completed a script, though the studio has not confirmed either report.
• Bayona previously directed 2018’s Fallen Kingdom, which used gothic-horror imagery and introduced the Indoraptor, a creature that helped fuel fan theories that engineered dinosaurs might contain human DNA.
• Director Gareth Edwards left the project earlier this month over reported creative differences, prompting Universal to look for a replacement to follow 2025’s Rebirth.
• Trade coverage says Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey are expected to return, but those casting reports remain unverified and no production or release dates have been announced.
• If Bayona signs on, the sequel could link Fallen Kingdom’s darker tone with Rebirth’s mutant-dinosaur setup on a third InGen island, a shift that would reshape the franchise’s style and reopen debate about human–dinosaur hybrids while key negotiations and confirmations play out.