Will Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Jurassic World’ Lead Role Cement Her Movie Star Legacy?

Has international movie super star Scarlett Johansson found her next big franchise hit?

Clint Thorpe

Published

June 12, 2024

Scarlett Johansson Jurassic World Rebirth

Arp / Depositphotos.com / Universal Pictures

By Clint Thorpe

Freelance content and copywriter. Lover of all things geeky. Movies, cinematic games and binge-worthy tv shows are my jam.

Freelance content and copywriter. Lover of all things geeky. Movies, cinematic games and binge-worthy tv shows are my…

Key Takeaways

Scarlett Johansson has been cast in Jurassic World 4 in the lead role. The Hollywood star has been in search of the next big-budget blockbuster franchise to star in as far back as 2014. A franchise as huge as Jurassic World could be the end to her search as the film can restore her status to a box-office draw.

Johansson has been a major star for decades, appearing in films like Lucy, Ghost in the Shell, and several of the MCU films including a standalone Black Widow movie, wherein she starred in the lead role. Since her exit from the franchise, much of her success has been in the form of voice-over work, but none of her projects have managed to spawn a franchise. Her casting in Jurassic World 4 will be a huge boost to her already successful career.

While there is reason to be cautious as Jurassic World Dominion wasn’t received well by fans, Johansson’s casting in the film and each previous entry’s success in the franchise doing better and better box office numbers shows that Johansson’s career and the film’s box office will both benefit greatly from her landing the lead role in the upcoming film.

Superstar actress Scarlett Johansson has been cast in the lead role in Jurassic World 4. Known as one of the most beautiful women in the world for decades now, Johansson started her career in 1994. The former MCU star has since been in several different films spanning across different genres, establishing herself as a sought-after and skilled actress in the industry. But Johansson’s been on the lookout for the next major movie franchise as far back as 2014. With Jurassic World 4 (update title is Jurassic World Rebirth), her search might now be at an end.

Scarlett Johansson’s search for a new franchise

Hit Scarlett Johansson GIFfrom Hit GIFs

Previous attempts made by the actress to star in a successful franchise haven’t panned out well. Lucy had a lot of franchise potential but for some reason failed to ever materialize. Ghost in the Shell, the live-action film based on the anime and manga of the same name, further struggled to do the same. Even her very own standalone Black Widow film did not produce further solo outings with her in the lead role. Johansson has worked on other successful projects but none of them ever materialized into a franchise.

While Scarlett Johansson might have been struggling to find a new franchise to star in for a while now, her casting in a successful franchise like Jurassic World 4 might change things drastically for the Hollywood actress. The 3rd iteration of the successful Jurassic Park franchise, each Jurassic World movie has managed to do better than the last, which makes it fairly easy to predict that Jurassic World 4 will rank in a major profit upon release if the franchise’s past box office performance and added nostalgia from fans is taken into account. Add to that Johansson’s pure star power.

How Jurassic World 4 can benefit from Johansson’s legendary movie-star status

There’s also the fact that Johannson will star in the lead role in this film, which is a step up from her being relegated to a supporting role in the MCU, which means the film will now garner attention and be a huge box office draw based off her star power. Scarlett Johansson’s involvement in this film also echoes her MCU co-star Chris Pratt, known for playing Star-Lord in the MCU and who went on to star in Jurassic World 1-3 as Owen Grady. Scarlett Johansson already has mega star power, but heading a franchise of this caliber would catapult her career into the stratosphere.

Scarlett Johansson is the highest-grossing and most bankable actress of all time. Her films have collectively grossed over $14 billion worldwide.

Scarlett Johansson’s work on Jurassic World 4 should also contribute to returning her to being a huge box-office draw. While she’s been in a wide variety of successful projects, those projects have been mostly voice-over ones, such as animated films like the Sing duology, her role in The Jungle Book live-action film, and Isle of Dogs. Since voice-over work can be seen as arguably ‘less’ important than live-action projects, her casting in the film as the lead can help change all of that and return her to a huge draw for the box office.

Scarlett Johansson Box Office Queen

Jurassic World T Rex GIFfrom Jurassic World GIFs

Having a bankable star like Scarlett Johansson head the film will surely help the franchise, though there is some reason to be cautious. Despite raking in the numbers, Jurassic World Dominion was not well-received by critics and fans of the franchise. While this could put a damper on the film ahead of its release, having someone famed like Johansson is bound to fill seats.

Scarlett Johansson has, nevertheless, been quite successful as not just an actress but also an entrepreneur. In 2022, the Hollywood star launched her own skincare brand, The Outset. She’s also collaborated with Prada on their Galleria Handbag collection. She’s one of the most hard-working and beautiful actresses in Hollywood today, and Jurassic World 4 is sure to benefit from her casting in the lead role.