Anne Hathaway is starring in a new 80s-based dinosaur movie, and its setting and concept already hint at a much better film than any of the Jurassic World releases. While the three Jurassic World movies were all huge blockbusters and grossed billions of dollars worldwide, they were mostly negatively received by critics, and Jurassic World: Dominion hit a series low point with a "rotten" 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. By Jurassic World: Dominion, the franchise had long forgotten what made the original special, such as the coherent story, the suspense, and the excitement. And bringing back the 1993 Jurassic Park actors didn't change that.

But now, The Hot Mic host Jeff Sneider reported that Anne Hathaway will star in a dinosaur movie of her own. Not much is known about the project, not even its name, but there are enough details that hint at it being a thrilling and very different dinosaur flick from anything that has come before it. The film will be directed by David Robert Mitchell, who is best known for making the psychological horror, It Follows, which hints that the Hathaway collaboration will be more than just multiplex fodder. Following a seven-year stretch of disappointing movies, the Hathaway/Mitchell project is exactly what Hollywood needs.

Anne Hathaway Can Deliver A Better Performance Than Any Jurassic World Actor


The Jurassic World movies feature characters written to the strengths of the movie stars playing them, and there isn't much character development. As a result, the performances in the movies from both the new and original cast felt phoned-in. However, Anne Hathaway is an Academy Award-winning actor, winning an Oscar for her Les Miserables role, and she can bring that talent to the untitled dinosaur project. But not only is she a celebrated dramatic actor, but Hathaway is a great action and comedy actor too, and the Get Smart actor has an equal balance of dramas, comedies, and action movies under her belt.

A dinosaur movie could perfectly complement Hathaway's huge acting range, and it'd be a refreshing new challenge for her too, as she's never worked on a movie like it. However, dinosaur movies outside of the Jurassic franchise haven't been successful despite their star power, as the Adam Driver-starring 65 bombed at the box office. That means that a bankable actor doesn't necessarily mean anything when Mesozoic creatures are the real stars of the movie. But with the knowledge that the project won't necessarily be a big-budget popcorn flick, the movie stands a much better chance, and it's the perfect vehicle for Hathaway to flex both her action and dramatic acting.

Anne Hathaway’s Dinosaur Movie Has An Exciting Setting


Where the Jurassic World movies are full of sterile and unflattering plain labs and other uninspired set designs, Hathaway's dinosaur movie sounds like it'll be anything but a blank canvas. The film will have an 80s setting, which makes the movie even more mysterious and fascinating. The period also sets the movie a few years before the original Jurassic Park. While that could cause speculation about being a Jurassic Park prequel, the movie is being developed by Bad Robot and Warner Bros., two completely different studios from Universal, which owns the rights to the Jurassic Park/World movies.

The untitled dinosaur movie begs the question of how dinosaurs are around in the 1980s. It could be a Good Dinosaur situation where the asteroid never hit Earth and dinosaurs and humans share the world. Or they could be genetically engineered, but that would be way too similar to Jurassic Park. It also isn't clear how much 80s set and costume design will be in the movie, as it could as be based on a remote island like Isla Nublar just as much as it could be in a bustling city. Either way, the project's 80s setting leads to all sorts of different possibilities.

Anne Hathaway’s Dinosaur Movie Has A Great Director


Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell was quickly hailed as a visionary director after the release of his striking psychological horror, It Follows, which holds an incredible 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though Mitchell directed 2018's Under the Silver Lake, which received mixed reviews and didn't have the attention that It Follows did, the 2014 horror movie was so successful that audiences still have so much goodwill for the filmmaker. Based on It Follows alone, Mitchell has become a director-to-watch, just like M. Night Shyamalan did following the release of The Sixth Sense. A high-concept dinosaur movie could finally deliver the visionary filmmaking that the 2014 horror flick teased and truly out do the Jurassic World movies.