‘Jurassic World’ Eyes ‘Wicked’ Star Jonathan Bailey for Lead

Universal is looking to stay in business with Jonathan Bailey, one of the stars of its upcoming Wicked films. Bailey is in early talks for a leading role in the studio’s new take on Jurassic World, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Scarlett Johansson is already on the call sheet for the feature, which has Gareth Edwards directing and a script form Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp. Amblin Entertainment is partnering with Universal on the movie, which continues the world created by novelist Michael Crichton and originally adapted for the big screen by Steven Spielberg in 1993’s Jurassic Park. Spielberg returned to direct sequel The Lost World (1997), with Joe Johnston stepping in for Jurassic Park III (2001).

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In 2015, Colin Trevorrow revamped the franchise with Jurassic World, which starred Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard and explored a park full of dinosaurs that was now open to the public. Pratt and Howard starred in two more features, with 2022’s Dominion uniting stars of both Jurassic Park (such as Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Godlbum) and Jurassic World. The new take is expected to follow new characters.

Bailey plays the prince Fiyero in Wicked, and appeared at CinemaCon last week during Universal’s presentation. The actor is also known for the Showtime limited series Fellow Travelers, which earned him a Critics Choice Award. He is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Hansen Jacobson.

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