Scarlett Johansson Is 'Excited' to Join Jurassic Franchise, Says Original Film 'Life-Changing' for Her

"I'm such an enormous fan of the franchise and huge nerd for it," said the actress

Scarlett Johansson attends the 2024 White House Correspondents' Dinner; Laura Dern in Jurassic Park.
Scarlett Johansson; Laura Dern in 'Jurassic Park'. Photo:

Paul Morigi/Getty Images; Murray Close/Getty Images

Scarlett Johansson is eager to share the big screen with dinosaurs.

The Oscar nominee, 39, who is set to star in an upcoming Jurassic World film, recently told ComicBook.com that she's been wanting to join the franchise for years.

"I'm such an enormous fan of the franchise and huge nerd for it. I'm just like, I can't even — I'm pinching myself," said Johansson, while promoting the film Fly Me to the Moon.

"I've been trying to get into this franchise in any possible way for over 10 years. I'm like, 'I'll die in the first five minutes! I can get eaten by whatever! I'll do the craft service!' I'll do anything for it," the Black Widow star joked. "The fact that it's happened in this way at this time just is actually unbelievable. I can't believe it."

Scarlett Johansson attends the "Asteroid City" red carpet during the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2023 in Cannes, France.
Scarlett Johansson on May 23, 2023.

Lionel Hahn/Getty

The new Jurassic movie (which comes after a trilogy of sequels starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard) will be written by David Koepp, who wrote the screenplay for the original 1993 Steven Spielberg film, based on Michael Crichton's novel, and the 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Johansson calls the latest script "so incredible."

"I'm an enormous Jurassic Park fan. It's one of the first films I remember seeing in the theater. I remember seeing it so vividly. It was, like, life-changing. It was mind-blowing," she added. "I cannot express how excited I am."

(from left) Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow.
From left: Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Isabella Sermon and DeWanda Wise in "Jurassic World Dominion". John Wilson/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

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Directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla), the upcoming Jurassic movie — in theaters July 2, 2025 — is also set to star Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise and Rupert Friend.

Original cast members Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern (who returned for 2022's Jurassic World Dominion) are not expected to return, nor are Pratt and Howard, as the next film is said to be a fresh, separate take on the series.

Fly Me to the Moon is in theaters July 12.

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