The trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth brings up the question: where exactly does this new entry take place? Like so many of the Jurassic entries, Rebirth appears to take place in a tropical, jungle-like locale where the dinosaurs roam free from human interaction. Most of the franchise's films take place in these locales, with some even venturing into cities like San Diego.
So where will the events of Rebirth take place? In the 1993 original, the park is located on Isla Nublar, in the neighborhood of Costa Rica, according to park founder John Hammond. 1997's sequel, The Lost World, reveals a second island where the dinosaurs were grown before being transported to the park on Isla Nublar. This second island—or rather, this lost world—was Isla Sorna, where the dinosaurs were originally cloned and bred before being transported to the original park on Isla Nublar. 2001's conclusion to the original trilogy, Jurassic Park III, saw yet another visit to Isla Sorna.
This brings us to the 2015 soft reboot and continuation of the franchise, Jurassic World. This saw the clever return to Isla Nublar and the location of the original park, as so much of the premise is the supposed realization of Jurassic Park's original vision.
And with Jurassic World Rebirth coming to theaters, just where does this new episode take place? On Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna, or a new island? If the title of Rebirth suggests anything, perhaps it is an entirely new location that has a key secret to the past. The trailer does not seem to provide a clear answer, although one character does refer to a location near "Barbados" that conveniently avoids "government control," as another jokes that "No one's dumb enough to go where we're going." Scarlett Johanson's character makes it clear that this island was "the research facility for the original Jurassic Park." This could be Sorna, and fans won't complain if so. But there is somethng about a previously undisclosed locale that makes this so much more interesting.
A new (and yet old) island shows that the Jurassic franchise can continue in endless locations where dinosaurs can roam free. If this island contains secrets from the past, it proves the title of Rebirth to be a perfect title. And finally, if the dinosaurs have survived and migrated to other places, it beautifully proves original character Ian Malcolm's timeless prophecy to be true: "Life finds a way."
Jurassic World Rebirth opens in theaters on July 2, 2025.