Jurassic World Rebirth director reveals the things he scrapped because of a Steven Spielberg rule

Jurassic World Rebirth may not be directed by Steven Spielberg, but he has his DNA all over the film. This has always been the case with the franchise installments, which were built on the foundation of the first two films, directed by Spielberg. After that, Spielberg has been a key executive producer behind the projects, leading the franchise with new creative voices, while maintaining his special touch.

The same happened with Jurassic World Rebirth. While Gareth Edwards directed the film, Spielberg offered major input on what should be kept or removed in the editing room. One of these notes may sound similar to the "kill your darlings" principle in writing.

According to Vanity Fair, Spielberg gave a note to remove all the easter eggs and callbacks to the older franchise films. The note said:

"Take out all the nods and references to all the previous Spielberg films and Jurassic Park Easter eggs."

It put Edwards in a tough spot. He was initially not on board with the suggestion, but eventually came around as he realized Spielberg's potential intention behind this note.

During the Vanity Fair interview, Edwards said:

“It was one of those things where I disagree, and nod, and write it down, and see what happens over the next few months. It probably feels like a snake eating its own tail. I wouldn’t want to do that if I was them. But—because I’m not them, and I’m a fan, and I love their work, and so does the rest of the world, I feel like [they're] the only people in the world that have a problem with this.”

Edwards' comments will ring true to any Jurassic Park fan who has grown up loving Spielberg's classics. That's why callbacks and easter eggs from previous franchise entries hold a special place in their heart. It offers them the kind of pleasure that an inside joke would do. So, the easter eggs work almost like a nostalgic sweet pill.

Yet, Edwards ultimately saw things from Spielberg's perspective and made the changes as revealed. It also shaped some crucial moments in his film, including an opening scene and a unique homage.

Edwards removed a Mr. DNA callback from Jurassic World Rebirth after receiving Spielberg's note

"Jurassic World Rebirth" - Seoul Press Conference - Source: Getty

Gareth Edwards accepted Steven Spielberg's input and removed many callbacks in Jurassic World Rebirth, including an introductory scene that was nearly emulating a scene from a Jurassic Park film.

In line with this, Edwards told Vanity Fair:

“The opening of the movie used to start with these primates watching, the trees are moving, and there are some monsters there. It turns out, it’s a giant digger destroying the rainforest. They’re building the laboratory in the middle of the jungle, and then the prologue begins.”

Edwards swapped the horrors in the wild for the horrors in the laboratory, establishing the aspect of mutant dinosaurs that terrorizes the team of experts later in the film.

Apart from that, Edwards also removed the shots involving Mr. DNA. It was supposed to be a callback to this expository character from the original Jurassic Park.

“We mocked it up really crudely in an early cut. And yeah, I got slapped on the wrist for that," Edwards said about removing Mr. DNA from the final cut.

Jurassic World Rebirth is out in theaters now.