This summer sees the release of some truly huge blockbusters. It’s been somewhat sluggish at the box office of late with numbers down from last year. This past week, however, has seen audiences return once more to the world of dinosaurs with the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth. The box office so far ($322m global opening weekend, the second biggest ever for a Jurassic film) has been something to roar about indeed.
Now, even though there’s no new Star Wars film until next spring and the franchise itself is approaching its 50th anniversary in 2027, the influence of George’s saga continues to be felt year and year and film and film.
The most obvious connection with Rebirth is the fact that it’s helmed by Rogue One director Gareth Edwards. The film itself is solid summer popcorn fun, in my humble opinion and its one of the stronger entries in the dino franchise. It’s a continuation without relying on pure nostalgia bait, such as Dominion, and really is a slick film with some genuinely scary moments.
When we meet the true villain of the piece, the D-Rex, I couldn’t help but think he looked like the distant cousin of a certain caged beast from Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi. Well, this was no mistake as a few clicks on the internet gave me the evidence that this mutant dinosaur was indeed inspired by the Rancor. It’s a true creature out of one’s worst nightmares and its very well executed. Edwards, stating that it’s hard to come up with a monster idea, even joked in a recent interview with Collider – “We put in a little bit of the rancor from Star Wars. Don’t tell the people who worked on Star Wars.”
Turning our eyes to the next big release, James Gunn’s Superman comes flying into cinemas around the world from July 11 and there have been rumours abound about Star Wars inspired sequences but the real fun thing about this film is that the leading man himself, David Corenswet, is a truly huge Star Wars fan. Not just a casual viewer; he’s well and truly an ultra-passionate fan.
We are really not talking casual here. This guy recommends novels from the Rogue Squadron series as some of his best books to read and knows the lore very, very well. There are videos on social media with him nerding out and not an interview goes by where he doesn’t seem to bring up his passion for Battlefront or Battlefront II which seem to be what he spent a huge chunk of his life doing.
James Gunn himself is a well-known fan, so could we see some easter eggs coming up in the next big summer blockbuster.
To round out the big three of this year’s summer blockbusters, Marvel’s Fantastic Four stars the galaxy’s favourite stepdad – Pedro Pascal in the leading role.
Star Wars is everywhere, and always will be.