Gareth Edward's untitled Jurassic World movie may soon have another star, with THR reporting that Mahershala Ala is in talks to star alongside Scarlett Johansson in the next iteration of the beloved dino franchise.
Ali, who is best-known for his work on Green Book and Moonlight, has lately dabbling a bit more in genre films, lending his voice to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Invincible. He's also set to play the title character in Marvel's Blade, which he's reportedly feeling much better about after nearly exiting the project.
Little is known about Ali's role or Johansson's role, as details about the film's plot remain tightly under wraps. If their deals are completed, the pair will join a cast that reportedly already includes Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend.
Universal and Ali's reps did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The new Jurassic World movie will apparently launch a new era for the franchise, following on from the Jurassic World trilogy that ran from 2015 to 2022. Gareth Edwards is set to direct the new movie, while original Jurassic Park writer David Koepp will provide the script.
The Jurassic World trilogy was a huge success for Universal, with each film grossing more than $1 billion worldwide. Nevertheless, their reviews suffered as time went on.
We wrote in our review of the most recent film, "While Jurassic World Dominion is most certainly an imperfect addition to the Jurassic Park franchise — particularly with the rough presentation of some newer dinosaurs and its lack of faith in audience intelligence — it manages to introduce an impressive marriage between ever-present nostalgia and the constantly evolving challenges of having prehistoric creatures roaming free in our world. Characters new and old keep the film flying high, even if some of the Claire and Owen stuff makes the plane’s engine sputter now and again."
For more, check out our list of all the biggest movies releasing in 2024.
Image credit: Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Netflix
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
