A new TV spot for Jurassic World Rebirth was released today in preparation for a new trailer being released on Tuesday!

“That was the moment where all of us were like, I think this is going to work.” Scarlett Johansson takes a walk down memory lane as she rewatches scenes from her classic works including ‘Ghost World,’ ‘The Avengers,’ ‘Lost in Translation,’ ‘Her,’ ‘Marriage Story’ and more. Scarlett opens up about the “blind faith” her and her ‘Avengers’ costars had to have in the movie, the extensive recording process for ‘Her,’ Adam Driver’s “no-bullsh–t” style while working on ‘Marriage Story’ and so much more.

Scarlett covers a special edition of Deadline which was released today. Digital scans have been added into the photo gallery.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY – The Marvel alum breaks down Zora Bennett, marking the first time a woman takes the main role of a “Jurassic” film.
Casting Scarlett Johansson as the face of the next Jurassic World movie felt like a no-brainer for director Gareth Edwards.

He remembers sitting in a massive room inside Universal headquarters with Steven Spielberg, the father of the franchise. Everyone began spitballing their pie-in-the-sky pitches for the three main characters: Zora Bennett, a covert ops soldier; Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s longtime partner in crime; and Dr. Henry Loomis, the paleontologist along for the ride.

“It felt like at least one of them was going to be an A-lister,” Edwards tells Entertainment Weekly of the casting process. “There were your obvious names floating around, and then at one point, Steven said, ‘Well, if we don’t give it to Scarlett, she’s going to kill me because she’s been pursuing a Jurassic film for ages.’ My eyes lit up.”

Gareth took the Alien approach to Rebirth, referencing that classic Hollywood story of how Ridley Scott didn’t write the character of Ripley specifically as a woman before casting Sigourney Weaver. Based on a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, Edwards didn’t gender Zora at first. “It’s hard to think of someone better than Scarlett,” the filmmaker comments. “Now having worked with her, it’s really clear why she’s had the career she’s had, and she’s never been out of a limelight, as well as being an excellent actress.”

Johansson’s Zora Bennett is contracted to infiltrate a biosphere close to the equator packed with dinosaurs and extract DNA from the three biggest creatures of land, sea, and sky for a pharmaceutical company. She’s joined by Mahershala Ali as Duncan and Jonathan Bailey as Dr. Loomis, but, of course, the mission goes sideways when they are forced to rescue the Delgados, a family on vacation, from a dinosaur attack.

“Zora has had a long career in the military and in private security,” Johansson explains over email. “She is someone who has dedicated her life to service and to helping people. She has experienced a lot of loss, yet she maintains a lot of positivity and humor, even when things are hard. I wanted her to have a lot of sparkle. She is someone everyone wants to hang out with. She is a good-hearted person and a loyal friend. Of course, David gave her a lot of gusto in his amazing writing. I just added my part to bring her to life.”

Johansson also helped shape her character’s dynamic with Duncan and Henry. With an onscreen trio, when two are men and one is a woman, the pattern we often see is the romantic triangle. “She was super keen that that’s not what we do whatsoever,” Edwards says. “That kind of infected all the little decisions, and it just became a different kind of movie.”

The version of Jurassic World Rebirth that exists now — even as Edwards still has a ways to go to finalize the edit — is closer in spirit to Jaws. Johansson’s Zora is the Brody (Roy Scheider’s character), hunting for a prehistoric creature with Henry as the Hooper figure and Duncan filling the Quint void.

In taking the directing job, Edwards also became aware of the audience’s criticisms of Bryce Dallas Howard’s wardrobe in 2015’s Jurassic World; while Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady led a fleet of raptors on a motorcycle, Howard’s Claire Dearing was forced to run through the jungles of Isla Nublar in heels. “I got made aware of that as you get made aware of all sorts of things when you’re making a Jurassic film,” he says. “But no, I wasn’t that aware of it, actually, going into it.”

This wouldn’t have been Zora’s fate anyway. Johansson consulted on the costume, which became more bespoke to avoid the more masculine shape of “the straight-off-the-shelf military equipment,” Edwards continues. “A lot of the effort went into how to make it feel like a soldier in the movie, but in a way that still has some femininity to it.”

The fate of any future Jurassic films beyond Rebirth might as well be locked away on some dino-infested island, but it’s fair to say Johansson now continues in the tradition of Sam Neill and Pratt in leading the charge for this new era. A…rebirth, if you will.

“Scarlett’s character probably does share a little bit with Sam Neill in terms of the adventure side,” Edwards remarks. “She’s got this backstory. I don’t want to ruin it for people, but I was half waiting for the studio to cut these scenes out. There were these very emotional, serious scenes between her and Mahershala in the movie that you don’t necessarily expect. There’s quite emotional stuff in the setting up with these characters. The hope is that you care about them without the dinosaurs.”

Jurassic World Rebirth hits theaters on July 2.

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: James Gray is assembling another A-list cast for his next feature film, Paper Tiger, as sources tell Deadline that Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller are set to co-star opposite Adam Driver in the upcoming pic.

Gray is writing and directing with production set to start next month in New Jersey. Johansson and Teller step in for Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong, who had to drop out due to other commitments.

The film will be produced by Rodrigo Teixeira under his RT Features banner and frequent collaborator Anthony Katagas under AK Productions alongside Raffaella Leone, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem, and Andrea Bucko. Executive producers include Lee Broda, Jeff Rice, Riccardo Maddalosso and Emily Salveson.

Vincent Maraval and Kim Fox’s The Veterans is representing the international sales rights and CAA Media Finance is handling North American rights. Sales will continue at the Cannes market.

The film is described as a tense and gritty story revolving around two brothers who pursue the American Dream—only to become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through an ever-more dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian “Mafiya.” Their bond begins to fray, and betrayal—once utterly unthinkable—now becomes all too possible.

Sacker Entertainment Law is handling business affairs, production legal and finance legal for Paper Tiger.

Two-time Oscar nominee Johansson is well known for Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit, Her, Lost in Translation, as well as the The Avengers, Sing, and Captain America franchises and more. She will next star in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which will play in competition in Cannes, and will make her directorial debut with Eleanor the Great, which will premiere in Un Certain Regard.

Teller known for hits including Top Gun: Maverick, Whiplash, and The Spectacular Now. He recently starred in The Gorge for Apple TV+ and wrapped production on Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael and A24’s Eternity, in which he stars opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner. He will next star in Greg Kwedar’s fantastical comedy Possum Song and Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Winter Games for Paramount Pictures.

Johansson is represented by CAA and Bailey Brand Management. Teller is represented by CAA and attorney Chad Christopher.