New ‘Jurassic World’ Trailer Intensifies Global Jonathan Bailey Crush

If you don’t get excited for a new Jurassic Park movie, then I don’t know what to say to you about your soulless incapacity for enjoying things that are unabashedly thrilling, silly, and fun.

The adrenaline shot of wonder that was “oh my gosh, those are dinosaurs on screen!” when I first watched Steven Spielberg’s original film in 1993 has carried me through the franchise’s two decades of sequels, reboots, and reinventions.

No matter how mockable or preposterous some of those entries became, I approached watching them from a space of them not being dumb, but gloriously stupid—absurdity that’s an absolute blast. It’s dinosaurs and huge movie stars, being alternately awe-inspiring and goofy on a big screen, for my pleasure. What fun!

The first trailer for Jurassic World: Rebirth was released Wednesday, unleashing a surge of euphoria that I sorely needed on this cold February day.

I am indebted to Universal Pictures for considering, “How can we make this film even more exciting for Kevin Fallon?” They really nailed it by casting as the leads one of my favorite actresses, Scarlett Johansson, alongside It Boy of the moment—and the man who just happens to be my husband (in my mind)—Jonathan Bailey.

The film takes place five years after the events of 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion. (Don’t bother doing the math on whether that time adds up; logic has no place in Jurassic World.) Dinosaurs have found most of the world uninhabitable—relatable!—and thus are forced to seek refuge in the select few places where they used to thrive. That includes the original Jurassic Park, a place where no human has visited for years because of the danger.

Johansson’s Zora Bennett, a character name I won’t soon stop thinking about, is a covert operations expert tasked with a mission: A major medical breakthrough that could save countless human lives is on the horizon, but the DNA from the world’s three largest dinosaurs are needed to carry it over the finish line. To obtain that DNA, she must brave the perils of Jurassic Park and its dinos, enlisting paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey), to help her.

There are some other threads that will no doubt overcomplicate the plot, but those aren’t necessary to get into right now because, look at this trailer! We are all Jonathan Bailey, gazing up in wonder when first meets the beasts and whispers an overwhelmed, astonished, “Whoa, my god!”

While I will forever miss the impressive animatronics from the original films, the dinosaurs in the trailer at least look less cartoonish than they did in recent films in the franchise; the visual effects department is perfecting the CGI.

These movies are at their best when the action set pieces are huge, and the trailer suggests that Rebirth won’t disappoint in that regard—especially with the exciting news that the raptors are back. But this franchise only works when it also remembers that, as much as the original Jurassic Park was an action-horror film, it was a comedy. Truly, one of the funniest action movies in history.

Johannson and Bailey already seem to have a knack for the necessary screwball banter. “I can guarantee your safety. More or less,” Johansson’s Zora tells Bailey’s Henry. “More or less?!” is his adorably flabbergasted reply. And proving the theory that surfaced during the Wicked press tour that Bailey manages to create incredible chemistry with everybody he encounters, he also has a hilarious bit with Rupert Friend’s Big Pharma honcho Martin Krebs.

“Do we have to get a sample from an egg?” Friend’s Martin asks. “I suppose we could try to get from the parent, but they’re a flying carnivore the size of an F16,” Bailey’s Henry replies, with perfect comedic timing.

I could easily devote this whole post to how Rebirth is only going to escalate the already intense worldwide crush people have on Bailey, after his turns in Wicked, Bridgerton, and Fellow Travelers. This entire piece could be about how cute he looks in those lil’ glasses, followed by several dozen heart eyes emojis. But I do want to mention something that is rather monumental, and important to a lot of people (including me). Bailey starring in this movie is one of the first, or at least highest profile, times that an openly gay actor is the lead of a blockbuster action film. That’s huge.

Jurassic World: Rebirth hits theaters in July. See you there.