Universal’s follow-up to the Jurassic World films is set to land some heavyweight talent in the form of Mahershala Ali.
Another big casting story has popped up for the next film in the Jurassic World saga. There’s still plenty we don’t know about this film, including the title – although Jurassic City is one name that’s been floating around (and thus, dammit, it’s the headline of this article).
The project is set to shoot at Sky Studios Elstree next month and unbelievably, arrive in cinemas exactly a year later. However, with production looming the project is still furiously locking down key members of its cast and if today’s story is accurate, the film has just landed another big name.
The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that Mahershala Ali is in talks to join the ensemble and add some heavyweight artistic credibility to the picture. The Moonlight actor is a two-time Oscar winner, picking up the storied gong first for Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight in 2017 and then again in 2019 for Peter Farrelly’s Oscar-winning Green Book.
When it comes to this film, we’ve heard casting stories emerge from the Hollywood trades before that didn’t quite come together, so don’t take it as a done deal yet. Remember the widely-reported story that claimed Dev Patel was joining the project before everything went silent on that front?
Still, this close to production you’d imagine that Universal won’t be haggling over fine details, especially as the studio has a chance to sign up an actor – potentially for future instalments – who not only brings plenty of artistic credibility, but who is also a bona fide movie star with a career in the ascendancy.
Ali not only starred opposite Julia Roberts in last year’s biggest Netflix film, Leave The World Behind, but he’s also about to be one of the major new faces in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if and when Marvel can get its act together and get a Blade film in front of cameras. Add a starring role in a Jurassic film to that as well and you’ve got the makings of a career that can go in whichever direction Ali likes.
We also keep hearing that Scarlett Johansson is starring, but other names have been mentioned too. There was Dev Patel, Colman Domingo as the film’s villain and Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey. All of this on top of a script by original Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp under the direction of Gareth Edwards in what is rumoured to be a back-to-basics story.
We await further confirmations, and will update as we hear them,
