'Jurassic Park' to reopen?

The Jurassic Park franchise has been dormant since 2001’s oddball Jurassic Park III (a.k.a. ”the one with William H. Macy”). But EW has confirmed that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver — the married screenwriting duo behind last year’s surprise-hit reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes — are in final negotiations to write a fourth Jurassic Park. They’re hardly the first to take a swing at drafting another installment of the franchise: William Monahan (Body of Lies) tried in 2002, only to have his script rewritten by John Sayles (Lone Star), who reportedly introduced gun-toting dinosaur soldiers. The project seemed extinct until last year’s Comic-Con, where executive producer Steven Spielberg, who directed the first two films, announced plans to make a fourth ”in the next two or three years.” At the time, Spielberg was working with screenwriter Mark Protosevich (Thor, I Am Legend). It’s unclear if Jaffa and Silver will be working with an old treatment or starting from scratch. Either way, Universal is undoubtedly eager to bring this series — which has grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide — back from the dead.