David Leitch in Talks to Direct Jurassic World 4
You know when an action movie feels like it stalls just when it was really catching fire? This story feels like the real-life version of that. Deadline exclusively reports that David Leitch is “in early talks” to direct the next Jurassic Park/Jurassic World/Jurassic Premise on its Last Legs film, which he and Kelly McCormick will produce through 87North. Leitch is one of the biggest names in action cinema right now, having co-directed John Wick with Chad Stahelski and producing films like Nobody, Violent Night, Bullet Train, and the upcoming The Fall Guy (the latter two of which he also directed) through his production company. An earlier story said that Leitch would likely direct a big-screen version of the TV show Kung Fu with Donnie Yen in the lead role, but if he takes the reins of the new Jurassic movie, he will either have to hand that over to someone else or put it off for a while. David Koepp, who wrote Jurassic Park (the only good Jurassic movie), is writing the script for Jurassic Whatever They Call This One, and it’s expected to arrive in theaters in 2025.
This is the kind of news that makes you pull your hair out and shout in frustration. David Leitch is a fantastic action director, and he’s shepherding other talented filmmakers who are delivering excellent action films. I don’t want him tied up making another sucky Jurassic Park sequel. (Yeah, I know, anything can happen, but does anyone think there’s a chance this movie will be good?) I used to balk at people who didn’t want talented filmmakers getting involved in big studio franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, or Jurassic Park, but I’ve changed my mind. Part of it is that those movies are mostly bad now, but part of it is taking these guys away from where they’re doing much more interesting work. Adam Wingard, for example, made a fairly entertaining monster mash with Godzilla vs. Kong, but it was hardly a good movie, and now he’s doing another one of those instead of making something as unique and fascinating as You’re Next or The Guest. David Gordon Green has made some wonderful films, but for the past five years, he’s directed nothing but awful sequels to classic horror movies (with some TV sprinkled in, including the awesome Vice Principals). Don’t get me wrong – with David Leitch directing, I’m sure the next Jurassic movie will look great. But his talents are being squandered on a reboot of a reboot that will only further diminish a great film when he could be making another contribution to the action renaissance he helped pioneer.
