Following up the fourth biggest-grossing movie of all time is, literally, a monster task, but someone's got to do it.
After the runaway success of last year's Jurassic World, a trilogy was quickly confirmed, before attention turned to who would be in the hotseat for the next instalment.
With Colin Trevorrow out of action, with the small matter of Star Wars: Episode IX to be getting on with, rumours were flying about as to who would take control.
It's now been revealed, first by Trevorrow himself, then confirmed by producer Frank Marshall, that Spanish director Juan Antonio (J.A. to his friends) Bayona will now be helming the next segment of dino fun.
Bayona is currently finishing off an adaptation of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls, only his third full-length film.
His biggest success so far was with 2012 disaster drama The Impossible, which starred Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, which was a critical and commercial success. Clearly, this, plus the fact he's also directed a film with the word 'monster' in, was enough to convince the powers-that-be. 2007 horror The Orphanage was also very well-received.
Trevorrow and Derek Connolly are putting the screenplay together, with the film, which already has a confirmed release date of 22 June 2018, due to see the return of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
As long as he's down with the idea of dinosaurs in space with laser beams on their heads, then he'll be OK with us.
(Images: Rex/AllStar)
