That’s right. The franchise that just keeps coming back whether it is through sequels or 3D rereleases, Jurassic Park has been something we haven’t been able to get away from since we saw Martin Ferrero get eaten off of a toilet by a TRex. Twenty two years following the release of the original film (and a full quarter century since the original novel’s release), Jurassic Park will be coming back, this time as Jurassic World.

On June 12th, 2015, Jurassic World will kick off the summer blockbusters that follow the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Formerly known only as Jurassic Park IV, Jurassic World’s script is being penned by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who wrote 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes while it is directed by Colin Trevorrow who directed Safety Not Guaranteed. Though the writing of the team seems to support what Jurassic World is looking for, Trevorrow has some lofty shoes to fill from Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park even though the two sequels fell on less favorable reviews and adoration.

Universal has been trying to keep the Jurassic Park franchise alive for a while. Despite being relatively mishandled from the moment the first film was a hit, the original classic still holds enough respect and love to warrant a fourth trip into that world.

One of the great urban legends of modern Hollywood is the bug-nutter Jurassic Park 4 script that included an elite squad of talking, super intelligent dinosaurs who were hunting down the normal dinosaurs in the people world. Given the two JP sequels we did get, you understand why people were inclined to believe that.

All signs point to that idea being scrapped, as Deadline reports Universal brought on a quality writing duo to work on Jurassic Park 4:

Universal is setting Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver to write the script for the fourth film, which will be produced by Steven Spielberg and Kennedy/Marshall’s Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. Spielberg won’t direct this one.

For those unfamiliar with Jaffa and Silver, they were the writers behind last year’s excellent Rise of the Planet of the Apes. That film’s blend of science and disaster make them a seemingly great choice for the Jurassic Park franchise.

A little sad that Spielberg is already off the table as a director, but there are many other directors who could breath some new life into the franchise. In the meantime, Jurassic Park fans can get excited about the 3D release, set to hit theaters July 2013.

There was a kind of grandeur to the science-fiction films of the 1960s. Naturally they didn’t have the kinds of special effects that we have now, but they worked on big ideas, from the nature of humanity in 2001: A Space Odyssey to the contemporary fears of overpopulation in Soylent Green to the timeless question of whether apes will be our masters in the original Planet of the Apes.

I can’t think of many (or any for that matter) modern remakes that recapture or even attempt to emulate that grandeur of their bigger-thinking predecessors (however silly their concerns may have been). Instead of big ideas, Rise has a pretty simple story: James Franco is a researcher at a drug company, working on a cure for Alzheimer’s that accelerates the creation of brain tissue.

During a board meeting with the investors, one of his brightest test subjects escapes and crashes the party at exactly the wrong time. The beast is put down, but she’s revealed to have been pregnant, and Franco adopts her son (prophetically named “Caesar” by Franco’s senile father, played by John Lithgow). As the years go by, Franco realizes that the cure injected into the mother has been passed on to Caesar, who’s developed into a Superchimp, exhibiting an uncanny intelligence.

Regardless of any fan’s personal feelings about the project, it seems Fox is going ahead with its Plant of the Apes prequel film. In fact, today it was announced that Spider-Man’s James Franco has been cast as the lead in the film, now entitled Rise of the Apes.

As we mentioned previously, Rupert Wyatt is handling the directing duties of a script by Amanda Silver & Rick Jaffa. The story of Rise of the Apes concerns a scientist (Franco) who has been working on a cure for Alzheimer’s which is being tested on apes. The main test ape named Caesar starts to evolve rapidly due to the drug, and the scientist takes him home to live with him to protect him from cruel doctors.

Of course, as Caesar evolves he begins to realize that captivity isn’t for him and instead, he will rise up to lead his fellow apes to freedom. This story will show the modern day events that eventually lead to the apes dominating the human race as seen in the classic original Planet of the Apes films.

It will feature cutting edge ape effects by WETA Digital and will, for the first, time, have apes in it that are completely computer generated instead of being portrayed by actors in make-up. Could be cool, especially if there ends up being a bunch of great ape vs. man conflict.

Rise of the Apes will shoot this summer in British Columbia for a projected release on June 24, 2011.

Normally, I would be less than enthusiastic about a reboot or remake of a movie franchise that I loved as a younger man. However, in the case of Planet of the Apes, that ship sailed several years ago with Tim Burton’s lame attempt at a Planet of the Apes reboot starring Mark Whalberg. So, with that bad taste still in my mouth, I actually welcome another opportunity to do an Apes film correctly. Let’s hope Fox feels the same way as they are getting a new Apes prequel off the ground.

The new film, which used to be called Caesar and is now tentatively titled Rise of the Apes, will reportedly be a completely new take on the franchise with visual effects from New Zeland’s own WETA Digital, which will create full CG apes for the film instead of having actors in make-up. The story, set in present-day San Francisco, will involve genetic experimentation that eventually leads to intelligent apes.

Of course, these new intelligent apes don’t like the idea of servitude to their human masters and eventually rise up in revolt. Once this happens, humans and apes began a war for domination of the planet. The film is being written by Amanda Silver & Rick Jaffa (The Relic) and will be directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist).

I know what you’re thinking but I, for one, am going to give this new film a chance. After all, it can’t be any worse than Burton’s version so we’ve got nowhere to go but up.

Rise of the Apes hits theaters on June 24, 2011.