Colin Trevorrow On His Upcoming Atlantis Film: 'It's The Only Thing That Equals Dinosaurs For Me'

Fresh off finishing post-production on "Jurassic World: Dominion," director Colin Trevorrow is preparing to take audiences on another (sort of) prehistoric sci-fi adventure in the form of a movie about Atlantis. Trevorrow will direct from a script penned by Dante Harper ("Alien: Covenant"), based on a story Trevorrow co-wrote with Matt Charman ("Bridge of Spies").

Most stories about Atlantis depict the mythical city as a technologically advanced civilization that sunk to the depths of the ocean due to its leaders' hubris. As with any tale, factual or not, about an ancient society that collapsed as a result of its people's arrogance, it's a story that feels uncomfortably relevant in the age of climate change and Covid. Trevorrow noted as much while discussing why now is the right time for this project in a recent interview with Empire:

"For a generation right now to be able to enter a world that is not unlike their world – where their elders have basically gifted them a civilization that is dying – I think it is the right moment for that story."

Beyond his interest in making a timely allegory, Trevorrow admitted he's just "fascinated" by the Atlantis mythology:

"It's the only thing that equals dinosaurs for me. I guess I tend to go back to the past. But, you know, it was the first time that we had technology. And it's at a time when we had other kinds of creatures that aren't around anymore There are just so many things about it that are fascinating to me. So yeah, I'm a deep nerd for it."

Indeed, going "back to the past" has been one of the defining motifs of Trevorrow's directorial efforts so far, starting with his feature debut on 2012's "Safety Not Guaranteed" — a romantic dramedy about characters trying to reconnect with their lost loves, sometimes by way of actual time travel — and continuing on to 2015's "Jurassic World," which explored the idea of bringing the past (specifically, dinosaurs) back to life in the modern world. "Jurassic World" and its sequel "Fallen Kingdom" (which Trevorrow only co-wrote) also coasted by on audiences' collective nostalgia for "Jurassic Park" without fully understanding why Spielberg's film worked as well as it did. That is to say: it will be interesting to see if Trevorrow can move beyond doing that with "Dominion" before he takes this trip to Atlantis.

"Jurassic World: Dominion" opens in theaters on June 10, 2022, and Trevorrow's Atlantis film has yet to receive a release date.