'Jurassic Park 4' officially on hold for restructuring; David Oyelowo and Bryce Dallas Howard sought for roles

Looks like the excitement stirred up by Jurassic Park 4 director Colin Trevorrow tweeting an image of Isla Nublar was all for naught. Yesterday there was a minor uproar when the film's Digital Asset Manager and concept artist began tweeting that the film had been canceled, or at the very least put on hold. Turns out the film is indeed happening, but we may be waiting a lot longer for it.

Jurassic Park IV News was the first to let the raptor out of the bag, saying that the old "creative differences" chestnut was the culprit. The major point of contention seems to be over the size of the film, with the studio hoping to make it more "epic", while others involved seeing the situation differently. Basically, that means budgetary disagreements need to be sorted out before anything moves forward, and a "restructuring of the guard" is said to be taking place. Universal has released a statement confirming the film's postponement...

“In coordination with filmmakers, Universal has decided to release Jurassic Park 4 at a later date giving the studio and filmmakers adequate time to bring audiences the best possible version of the fourth installment in Universal’s beloved franchise.  We could not be more excited about the vision that Colin Trevorrow has created for this film, and we look forward to watching as he and the producers create another great chapter in this franchise’s storied history.”

Trevorrow is still on board and making the biggest jump of his career, tackling 3D for the first time in a cherished franchise, all with producer Steven Spielberg looking over his shoulder. The script is also said to not be an issue, and 80% of the Art Department's work is already done. Universal had already begun looking forward to casting, with Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) and David Oyelowo (Red Tails) on their list as frontrunners. But something doesn't quite square, as a plan to make the film bigger would seem to require a considerable amount of additional of script work, not to mention new storyboarding. What it sounds like is Universal may have been moving too fast, and need to take a step back and reevaluate their approach.

So knock Jurassic Park 4 off of its June 2014 perch, and perhaps start looking towards 2015. [Variety]