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We don’t know much about Jurassic World 5 yet, other than director Gareth Edwards, who helmed Jurassic World Rebirth (2025), recently exiting the project over “creative differences.”
“Insiders say the decision was made due to creative differences, and Edwards will now focus on other original projects he is developing,” Deadline wrote in August, adding, “The studio is opening up the search for a new director.”
Universal released a statement saying, “We had an incredible experience working with Gareth on Jurassic World Rebirth.”
Jurassic World 5 Moves Forward
Now, the studio is looking for a new director, while actors Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey, who played Zora Bennett, Duncan Kincaid, and Henry Loomis in the latest film are said to be reprising their roles, with writer David Koepp once again penning the script.
The sequel is expected to begin shooting in 2027. But where the franchise can go from here is unclear. Rebirth essentially wrote the film series into a dead-end by inexplicably wiping out global dinosaur populations, despite them being seen to be thriving in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion. The 2025 film opts for another jungle-island setting, this time with mutant dinosaurs.
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Officially Hitting Reset After ‘Rebirth’ Ruins Film Series
Nevertheless, Jurassic World 5 will move forward. Despite overwhelmingly negative reviews from audiences and critics, Jurassic World Rebirth grossed a solid $869.1 million worldwide.
Still, given its turbulent critical reception, Universal may look to try and guarantee more ticket sales using nostalgia — something Jurassic is no stranger to, with Dominion having brought back Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), and Sam Neill (Alan Grant).
Now, a post shared by the official Jurassic World social media accounts has left many fans wondering if the actors who played Lex and Tim Murphy, Ariana Richards and Joe Mazzello, will return.
Captioned with the cryptic words, “It could still happen,” the post is a series of three images featuring both characters. The first is the scene where they’re hiding behind a fallen tree as the T. rex attacks a Gallimimus; the second is the kitchen scene where they’re hiding from raptors; and the third is the T. rex escape scene where they’re trapped inside a rain-battered jeep.
It could still happen. pic.twitter.com/HoBC6rlOej
— Jurassic World (@JurassicWorld) September 16, 2026
Lex (Richards) and Tim (Mazzello) remain the only surviving characters from the original Jurassic Park (1993) who have yet to fully return to the franchise, appearing only briefly in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
While Mazzello is still acting, having most notably starred in the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Richards has long stepped away from Hollywood to focus primarily on her art career. Meanwhile, both actors have recently made appearances in comic conventions.
Whether Lex and Tim will make their long-awaited return to the franchise remains to be seen. Lex might be the easiest to bring back given the fact she’s a computer nerd and pretty much saved the day in the original Jurassic Park (although she prefers to be called a “hacker”).
As for Tim, it would be interesting to see whether he went on to become a paleontologist like his idol Alan Grant, or if he’d already had his fill of dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. Either way, the Murphy siblings remain two of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise.
If they do return, here’s hoping David Koepp has a far better script this time around.
There’s no release date for Jurassic World 5.
Would you like to see Lex and Tim return to the Jurassic franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
