The director of “Jurassic World” and one of the writers and co-executive producers on “House of the Dragon” are teaming up for a big-budget sci-fi fantasy for Sundance. Director Colin Trevorrow and writer Charmaine DeGraté’s “Atlantis,” which was previously in development at Universal, concerns the fabled civilization that allegedly sank into the sea and was lost due to divine intervention of wrathful gods.
Trevorrow, who also helmed “Safety Not Guaranteed” and “The Book of Henry,” will produce via his Metronome Film Company alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger’s Skydance. Trevorrow is coming off “Jurassic World Dominion,” which earned just over $1 billion worldwide, including $375 million domestically and $159 million in China, last summer.
“Jurassic World” was an even bigger hit in 2015, earning decent reviews and grossing $652 million domestically and $1.671 billion worldwide. That blow-out hit temporarily got him the job directing “Star Wars: Episode IX” before he departed the Lucasfilm/Disney sequel over creative differences. J.J. Abrams, who had made “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” took over for what would become “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” which Trevorrow produced but did not direct – J.A. Bayona took the director’s chair — earned $417 million domestically and $1.308 billion worldwide in 2018.
DeGraté’s well-received “Game of Thrones” prequel just won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series, Drama. Skydance is still basking in the fortune — $1.49 billion worldwide – and glory – six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture – for “Top Gun: Maverick.” A previous draft of the screenplay was written by Dante Harper, who also worked on Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant” in 2017.
Skydance currently has a first-look deal with Apple, and, whether they grab the project or let it go elsewhere, it is not yet known whether it will end up as a theatrical release or a streaming premiere.
