Scarlett Johansson thinks new sequel Jurassic World Rebirth "stands on its own" despite including plenty of franchise Easter eggs: "The hope is that if you've never seen any of the other Jurassics, this is the one"

Jurassic World Rebirth has been dubbed a "standalone sequel" to the long-running franchise, which originated in 1993 with Jurassic Park, and Scarlett Johansson thinks it's a fresh start for the series in more than just name.

"This film, to me, really felt like it's singular. It's its own piece," Johansson, who plays covert operative Zora, one of the movie's recruits for a top secret, prehistoric mission, tells GamesRadar+. "And you hope that this film stands on its own without the support of the films that come before and that it doesn't need to extend beyond what it is."

The seventh movie in the series is set five years after 2022's Jurassic World Dominion and wipes the slate clean with a whole new cast of characters – and a new crop of jurassic beasts. And, unlike the previous three Jurassic World movies, there aren't any cameos from legacy characters (although one big name does get a brief mention…).

The world is a very different place than it was in Dominion, too, and dinosaurs are slowly dying out everywhere but a few isolated, tropical locations.

"I mean, the film is called Rebirth, of course, but Gareth [Edwards, director], and I think Frank [Marshall, producer] and Steven [Spielberg, executive producer] and all the creatives on this project, wanted to establish this film as its own contained, standalone thing," Johansson continues.

"I'm a massive Jurassic universe fan, and there's certainly a lot of wonderful nostalgic winks or nods or Easter eggs or whatever you want to call them to Steven's movies and the Jurassic films that have been previous to this, I think the hope is that if you've never seen any of the other Jurassics, this is the one. That's the goal, anyway."

Jurassic World Rebirth arrives in theaters on July 2. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other biggest upcoming movies to add to your watchlist.