For 30 years, Scarlett Johansson has wanted to be in a Jurassic universe movie. So when she met Steven Spielberg, she said she had to do what she could not to appear to be a ‘a humongous weirdo’.
The Hollywood actress, 40, might have appeared in multiple Marvel films and in franchises like Transformers, but she told Metro the chance to appear in Jurassic World Rebirth was extra special.
Speaking to us at the London premiere on Tuesday night, she said: ‘I’ve been chasing the Jurassic universe for three decades. I would have happily played any kind of dino snack.
‘But I knew that they were doing a new one and that there was a part that I potentially could be right for – right age and otherwise – and so I got in there and was like “I’ve got to meet on this. I just want to share my enthusiasm”.’
Seeing her opportunity, Johansson set up a general meeting with Spielberg, executive producer of the latest film – the seventh feature-length instalment in the Jurassic series.
She explained: ‘I tried not to be a humongous weirdo and geek out, but after a couple of hours talking to him, he brought it up. He was like, “Oh, I think we’re supposed to be talking about Jurassic?”, and that was my in. So then I felt comfortable being a total nerd.’
Spielberg, who directed the original Jurassic Park in 1993 and 1997’s sequel, the Lost World, has reunited with original screenwriter David Koepp for the latest movie.
British filmmaker Gareth Edwards – known for his original sci-fi film The Creator as well as directing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – takes over at the helm for Jurassic World Rebirth.
He was the one who tipped us off about Johansson’s obsession with the franchise, revealing that Spielberg said she would kill him if he didn’t get the part of extraction expert Zora Bennett.
Johansson added: ‘He was basically forced to cast me.’
The double Oscar nominee also praised Jurassic World Rebirth’s wider team for coming together to deliver the film to cinemas less than 12 months after shooting wrapped – and only 16 months after Edwards was announced as director, with no cast in place.
She said: ‘We did shoot it for five months, so it wasn’t that fast, but I think Gareth knew… it’s all in the magic of post-production. He put the pedal to the metal.
‘I mean, we were just having a sound mixing conversation like 10 days ago. So, it’s really being delivered – it is hot off the presses.
‘And you do that with an extraordinary group of post-production specialists and a big, big team – that’s the way you do it.’
Johansson also produces on the film, in which she co-stars with Wicked actor Jonathan Bailey, two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, Homeland and Companion star Rupert Friend and Netflix star of The Lincoln Lawyer Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.
More Trending
Set 32 years after dinosaurs were brought back from extinction thanks to the events of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World Rebirth follows a top-secret expedition including Johannson’s former military operative Bennett, Bailey’s bespectacled palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis, Friend’s pharmaceutical rep Martin Krebs and Ali’s team leader Duncan Kincaid.
The group braves the forbidden isolated equatorial regions where dinosaurs still roam freely to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures in the hopes of a major medical breakthrough.
Jurassic World Rebirth is released in cinemas on Wednesday July 2.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Struggling to sleep at night? These are the best fans to keep you cool in a heatwave
MORE: Fans are all saying the same thing after Tom Cruise finally gets his Oscar
MORE: Readers say protesters weren’t backing a regime – they were backing it’s people
