Scarlett Johansson said in an interview with Vanity Fair that she spent years forwarding trade reports of new “Jurassic Park” movies to her agents because she was desperate to join the long-running franchise. She’s finally getting her chance with this summer’s “Jurassic World Rebirth,” co-staring Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali.
“I was really crazy about the [original] film, and I slept in a ‘Jurassic Park’ pup tent in my bedroom I shared with my sister for a year,” Johansson said about her enduring love for the franchise. “Anytime the trades would report a new ‘Jurassic’ movie, I would forward to my agents like, ‘Hey, I’m available.’”
When Johansson was filming reshoots for her Marvel movie “Black Widow” in 2020 at Britain’s Pinewood Studio, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard were next door on a soundstage filming “Jurassic World Dominion.” The actor remembered telling her team then: “Show me the sets! I want to participate!”
Johansson eventually landed a meeting with Steven Spielberg, who directed the original “Jurassic Park” film and its 1997 sequel, “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” The two were meeting to discuss potential upcoming projects, but all Johansson had her eye on was the “Jurassic” franchise.
“I hadn’t really sat with him and talked about work, and we spent hours just catching up and chatting, and then at some point, many hours into it, he was like, ‘Wait, we’re supposed to talk about “Jurassic.” Do I hear you’re a huge superfan?’” Johansson recalled. “I said, ‘It is actually true. I’m confirming. I’m a huge superfan.’”
She stopped short of telling Spielberg that she slept in a “Jurassic Park” tent for a whole year because she didn’t want him thinking she’s some “weird stalker,” but she now regrets that.
“Obviously with all the ‘Avengers’ stuff you meet so many fans who are profoundly moved by the characters and the world that you’re a part of,” Johansson said. “I get it. It’s always wonderful to meet people like that. I probably should have just told him. But I was like, ‘Just be professional. Don’t seem desperate. Don’t mention the tent.’”
Johansson now leads “Jurassic World Rebirth” as Zora Bennet, a former mercenary now leading a group of scientists on a mission to retrieve dinosaur blood that could lead to the cure for heart disease. She previously told ComicBook.com that she spent 10 years trying to get herself into the dinosaur franchise, even telling her agents that she would be fine dying in “the first five minutes.”
“Jurassic World Rebirth” opens nationwide July 2 from Universal Pictures.