Honestly, it feels like Scarlett Johansson has been everywhere and nowhere all at once lately. After the whole Black Widow legal drama and her pivot into more "prestige" indie fare, there was this quiet hum about what her next massive blockbuster would actually be. Well, the silence is officially over. We're looking at a total franchise takeover.
The big one is Jurassic World Rebirth.
If you’ve been scrolling through social media, you might’ve seen some grainy set photos or heard rumors that this is just another reboot. It isn't. Not exactly. This isn't a "start from scratch" situation where we forget the Park or the World movies ever happened. It’s a standalone sequel set five years after Jurassic World Dominion. It basically resets the board. Scarlett is playing Zora Bennett, a covert ops expert who is definitely not there to pet the Brachiosaurs.
Why Zora Bennett is Different
Most people expect the lead in a Jurassic movie to be a scientist or a chaotician in a leather jacket. Zora is different. She's a specialist in "extraction." In this world, the dinosaurs aren't just roaming the suburbs like they were at the end of the last film; they’ve mostly died out because the modern climate is too harsh for them. They only survive in these specific "equatorial zones."
Zora’s mission is basically a heist. She’s sent to a former island research facility to grab DNA samples from the three biggest, meanest species left—the Mosasaurus, the Titanosaurus, and the Quetzalcoatlus. Why? Because their DNA holds the key to a miracle drug for human heart disease.
It's a "one last job" trope, but with a T-Rex.
The cast around her is actually pretty stacked. You’ve got Mahershala Ali as her team leader and Jonathan Bailey—the Bridgerton star everyone is obsessed with—playing a paleontologist who probably regrets his career choices about ten minutes into the movie.
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Jurassic World Rebirth and the Gareth Edwards Factor
You can't talk about the new Scarlett Johansson movie without mentioning the director, Gareth Edwards. If you saw Rogue One or The Creator, you know his style. He loves "boots on the ground" realism. He’s the guy who makes giant things feel terrifyingly big by filming them from a human perspective.
He actually filmed a lot of this in Thailand, and apparently, they dealt with real snakes on set. Not the CGI kind. Real ones.
The cinematography is being handled by John Mathieson, who did Gladiator. So, expect the movie to look gorgeous and gritty rather than that clean, plastic-y look some recent blockbusters have. The goal here is to get back to the "scary" roots of the original 1993 film. They’re even using lost scenes from Michael Crichton’s original 1990 novel that never made it into the previous six movies.
The Real Release Schedule
- Jurassic World Rebirth: Released July 2, 2025.
- Eleanor the Great: Released September 26, 2025.
- The Exorcist (Mike Flanagan project): March 12, 2027.
Wait, did I mention Eleanor the Great?
That’s her directorial debut. Most fans are so focused on the dinosaurs that they missed her stepping behind the camera. She directed June Squibb (who is 94 and still crushing it) as a woman moving back to New York after her best friend dies. It’s a tiny, intimate story about grief and Jewish identity. It actually got a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes. It’s the total opposite of a $200 million dinosaur movie, which is classic Scarlett.
The Horror Pivot: Scarlett and The Exorcist
If you thought a Jurassic movie was a big swing, wait until 2027. Scarlett has officially signed on for Mike Flanagan’s "radical" new take on The Exorcist.
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Flanagan is the guy behind The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. He doesn't do cheap jump scares. He does "soul-crushing existential dread." Universal and Blumhouse are putting a lot of money behind this after their last attempt at an Exorcist sequel kind of flopped.
The fact that Scarlett is jumping into the horror genre now is a major shift. She’s also starring alongside Jacobi Jupe, who was incredible in Hamnet. Production is rumored to start later this year, hence the far-off 2027 release date.
What’s Happening With Tower of Terror?
You've probably heard about the Tower of Terror movie for years. It’s been in "development hell" since 2021. Scarlett has been pretty open about why it’s taking so long. Basically, the ride’s story is "thin." There isn't much to go on besides "people disappeared in an elevator."
She’s still producing it under her "These Pictures" banner, but they are treats it as a "blue sky" project. That’s industry speak for "we’re still figuring it out." Josh Cooley, who directed Toy Story 4, is writing it. It’s still happening, but don’t expect a trailer anytime soon.
Then there's Featherwood. This one is a true-crime thriller where she plays Carol Blevins, a heroin addict who became a key FBI informant to take down the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. It’s supposed to be dark. Like, Under the Skin dark. However, the project recently lost its director, Andrea Arnold, in late 2025. It’s currently looking for a new leader to get cameras rolling.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to keep up with the new Scarlett Johansson movie cycle, you need to look beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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First, watch the Jurassic World Rebirth trailer specifically for the scale. Gareth Edwards uses a lot of natural light and wide shots that make the dinosaurs look like part of the environment, not just added in post-production. It changes the whole vibe.
Second, check out the reviews for Eleanor the Great if you want to see her range as a storyteller. It’s currently sitting around a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is decent for a first-time director. It shows she's interested in "human" stories as much as she is in the big-budget stuff.
Finally, keep an eye on the horror space. Her partnership with Mike Flanagan is the most interesting thing she's done in a decade. It’s a move that suggests she’s looking for "auteur" directors rather than just "franchise" directors.
The next two years are essentially the "Scarlett Renaissance." From 94-year-old New Yorkers to Mosasaurs in the Pacific, she's covering every possible base.
To stay ahead of the curve, track the production updates for The Exorcist starting in late 2026. This will be the first time we see her in a pure horror role, and it's likely to set the tone for the next phase of her career. If you missed Jurassic World Rebirth in theaters, it’s hitting streaming services like Peacock and Netflix throughout early 2026, depending on your region's licensing deals.