After months of speculation and anxious anticipation, the question of who will score Jurassic World Rebirth has finally been answered: French composer Alexandre Desplat! A brand new composer is joining the Jurassic franchise, announced by Entertainment Weekly in an interview and the great behind-the-scenes recording session video below:
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ changes composers! EW exclusively reveals that Alexandre Desplat takes over for Michael Giacchino with a “goosebump-inducing” score that references John Williams’ music from ‘Jurassic Park.’ https://t.co/R5azgZH6iC
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 22, 2025
Welcome composer Alexandre Desplat to the Jurassic family. pic.twitter.com/wyrhNo4bmQ
— Jurassic World (@JurassicWorld) April 22, 2025
From Entertainment Weekly:
Jurassic World Rebirth director previews ‘goosebump-inducing’ homage to original score as series changes composers (exclusive)
EW exclusively speaks with Desplat as he takes over for “Jurassic World” composer Michael Giacchino, and tries to “inject some” of John Williams’ 1993 score “as a reminder.”
Like life itself, the creative minds behind Jurassic World Rebirth found a way to evolve as legendary composer Michael Giacchino exits his three-film streak with the franchise.
Ahead of the new film’s theatrical bow on July 2, Entertainment Weekly can exclusively reveal that two-time Oscar-winner Alexandre Desplat is stepping in to compose the fourth Jurassic World movie’s score.
“Every score John Williams has written has become an iconic score, so it’s quite a daunting task,” Desplat tells EW of carrying the legacy he and Giacchino inherited from Williams, who composed the 1993 Jurassic Park film’s instantly recognizable theme.
“At first, you’re excited, then panic comes along because you realize that you’re taking over from a fabulous composer who invented so many great things that the whole planet knows. You try to find your way through that,” adds the musician, who previously composed the scores for The Shape of Water and the Harry Potter films.How ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ became ‘a brand-new chapter in this franchise’ (exclusive)The cast of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’: Everything to know
Desplat explains that he wanted to incorporate “quotes of John’s music” to honor his contributions, while also forging a new path for his material within the context of director Gareth Edwards‘ story in Rebirth.
The film picks up after the events of 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion, with operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) leading an extraction team (Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey) to a forbidden, dinosaur-inhabited island at the request of a pharmaceutical company. While there, they cross paths with the shipwrecked Delgado family, who survived an attack by ocean-dwelling dinos.
Desplat found himself balancing “how and where” he could “inject some of [Williams’] theme as a reminder” in the new story, using a “mainly orchestral” score with help from a 105-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir. “You try to make it your own, and at the same time, pay homage to Williams’ music, and try to find your own way through that by inventing new themes and ideas, but staying in the same artistic zone as the scores of the franchise.”
Desplat also sees the film’s music as separated into specific sections. “It’s the emotional aspect, which is divided into two stories: this group of people looking for the dinosaurs, and another group of people, which is a family. There are two themes and melodies that belong to these two groups,” he explains. “The other aspect is all the action!”
In a statement to EW, Edwards praises Desplat’s approach.
“Like the epic dinosaurs in our film, Alexandre is the last of his kind, a rare species with the talent and knowledge to orchestrate his own classical scores,” he says. “If studios could clone him, they would. Until science finds a way, I’ll happily settle for those goosebump-inducing memories of hearing his music at Abbey Road as he conducted a one-hundred-piece orchestra for our ‘little’ Jurassic movie. Chills.”
While Desplat says he’s long been inspired by Williams, particularly by his Star Wars score, he didn’t consult the composer before joining the project.
“John Williams is a very iconic composer that you don’t call on the telephone every morning to ask his opinion about what the heck you’re doing. So, I would never have dared asking him anything,” Desplat says, laughing. “I have too much respect for him. I’m much too humbled to think he’d have an answer to me. I tried to be as good as I can be.”
He hopes his work will resonate with Steven Spielberg, who directed the ’93 original and executive produced Rebirth, written by returning screenwriter David Koepp.
“I hope that when he hears the score, he’ll be happy, and that I won’t be embarrassing the franchise with what I wrote,” Desplat says, joking that he, too, might one day become extinct when it comes to the Jurassic franchise. “John Williams’ wings are flying above us, so I do hope Spielberg enjoys the score. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll be fired! You never know.”
Watch Desplat conduct the Jurassic World Rebirth orchestra in EW’s exclusive preview video before the film releases July 2 in theaters.
Alexandre Desplat will compose the musical score for Jurassic World Rebirth! The composer, known for his collaborations with Wes Anderson, his work taking over for John Williams on the Harry Potter series, and his score for Rebirth director Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, is joining the Jurassic franchise.
So we finally have our answer as to who is composing the score for this movie. And not only that, we were treated to a great behind the scenes video – which is excellent marketing.
Are you familiar with Desplat’s work? He is a composer that we have predicted and discussed for quite some time, and a name that already seemed somewhat connected to the franchise, having scored Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla.
Anxiously awaiting a Jurassic World Rebirth composer announcement… 🦖🎶
— Caleb Burnett (@CalebComposed) February 24, 2025
Alexandre Desplat is at the top of my list, personally – a new voice for the franchise, a 2-time Best Score winner, and someone who has scored big lizards with Gareth Edwards before: https://t.co/iDQdRNuQKA
The silence until now, the lack of a composer, began to feel like either something had happened behind the scenes causing a shift in composers, or that they were saving a big announcement. And it seems they were definitely saving a big reveal. The spotlight on the music and composer for this movie is a great thing, and much appreciated. Many had assumed and speculated that John Williams might return. Alas, it was not true, and it makes sense. Alexander Desplat is a two-time Best Score Academy Award winner, he clearly has a solid relationship with Gareth Edwards, and his score for Godzilla was well received.
Desplat is an engaging and entrancing composer known for his memorable themes and big, sweeping orchestral style. He can fit well into the Jurassic musical world by channeling John Williams’ best choices, but also brings something new to the franchise with his willingness to delve into the dark, mysterious, and sometimes weird – demonstrated in his work on Harry Potter, The Shape of Water, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Godzilla, and many others.
The mysterious-sounding chord progression with the flutes in the video is present in John Williams’ The Lost World: Jurassic Park score multiple times, including when the groups are running through the jungle after the T. rexes attack the camp, and right after David Koepp gets eaten and people are running in San Diego. While totally coincidental, it is a thrilling sound from the orchestra and a very Jurassic one at that. Honestly, that applies to all of the music we hear in the announcement video. It’s also exciting to hear about Desplat creating themes for the “two groups”: Zora Bennett’s team and the Delgado family as well. We can’t wait for his take on a Jurassic film score!
Also in the announcement video, we see the shot below of an instrument part for the score recording, likely a flute or other woodwind part based on the instructions in the lower part of the shot. The cover of this part has “SAGA” top left, the working title for Jurassic World Rebirth, our composer’s name (Alexandre Desplat) above the cue and version number, and then we can see the cue is titled “Opening-Lab.” This tells us that the opening scene of Rebirth is indeed a lab sequence. Many have assumed that the shots of the Mutant in the red tank seen in the trailer are part of an opening scene. Maybe they are correct in that the opening inciting incident is going to setup that particular creature, but maybe not. The opening might be something we’ve currently seen nothing from… Jurassic and “labs” certainly go hand in hand!
What do you think of this announcement, and are you excited about Alexandre Desplat as the composer for Jurassic World Rebirth? Let us know in the comments, and watch our full breakdown of the composer news below!