'I had to rely on my imagination': Mahershala Ali on filming Jurassic World Rebirth

“More than any other job I’ve ever done, I’ve had to rely on my imagination for this film,” reflects American actor Mahershala Ali.

“It was the loneliest ensemble filming I’ve ever experienced, as we had to respond to something that is outside of us.”

The 51-year-old, two-time Academy Award winner stars as Duncan Kincaid, a mercenary and covert operations team leader, in Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest instalment in the long-running franchise.

Ali is referring to the unique demands of performing alongside CGI dinosaurs — creatures that would only come to life in post-production to create a fantastical experience for audiences.

Directed by British filmmaker Gareth Edwards, best known for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Creator, Jurassic World Rebirth marks the seventh film in the series.

The story follows a recovery team, led by Ali, Scarlett Johansson, and Jonathan Bailey, as they travel to Ile Saint-Hubert, an equatorial island that once housed the original Jurassic Park’s research facility.

Their mission is to retrieve genetic material from the three most colossal prehistoric creatures, across land, sea, and air, in an effort to unlock a groundbreaking cure for heart disease and other life-threatening conditions.

Ali, who won Oscars for Moonlight and Green Book, emphasised the discipline required on a set where actors weren’t reacting to each other, but to invisible, imagined threats.

“I’m not responding to Rupert or Johnny or Scarlett,” he said. “We’re responding to this thing that is outside of us. You’re having to imagine the thing that you’re scared about every day, and your only reference point is a tennis ball on a stick.

“I think that’s why it’s very difficult to do good work in these types of films — because it requires you to be so focused and so disciplined.”

Ali said he was keen to join the cast of Rebirth as it was a film his daughter could actually go and see, and added he was drawn to the character of Kincaid.

“Duncan felt so different from anyone else that I’ve played in recent years,” he said.

“Duncan is a modern-day pirate, but with a good heart. He’s very active, always in motion, driven by clear purposes. I was excited as an actor to hook into that and play that.

“I haven’t read a lot of action-adventure scripts before, but this one struck me as a thrilling expression of that genre.”

Johansson, who plays Zora Bennett, a former special-forces operative leading the extraction team, said she has been a fan of the Jurassic franchise since childhood.

“It’s been a dream of mine to be in the Jurassic family since forever,” said Johansson, 40, a two-time Oscar nominee.

Johansson, known for her role as Natasha Romanoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, said she was able to draw on her extensive action experience for the film.

“I’ve had so much weapons training and military training over the years,” she said.

“I never thought, as a young actor, I would ever say that would be a requirement of my job - but that stuff really comes in handy. You have a shorthand with a lot of choreography and weapons.”

Beyond its thrilling action sequences, Jurassic World Rebirth also explores urgent global issues - most notably, environmental collapse.

The film imagines a future Earth so ecologically damaged that it has become largely uninhabitable, even for dinosaurs.

It also addresses healthcare inequality through the character of Martin Krebs, played by British actor Rupert Friend.

A pharmaceutical representative for biotech giant Parker-Genix, Krebs is tasked with extracting dinosaur DNA in hopes of developing a revolutionary drug — one his company intends to patent and profit from exclusively.

Krebs conceals the true extent of the island’s dangers from Bennett and her team, adding moral complexity to the mission.

“The film definitely addresses the ethical dilemma of whether creating a drug that could save countless lives — but also generate enormous profits — is morally justifiable,” said Friend, 43, known for Homeland and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“At the centre of Martin’s character is this tension: he may genuinely want to help people, but he’s also very interested in the money. It’s a conflict between altruism and ambition.

“If you’re speaking on a broader scale, it’s really about the availability of drugs and the price point. Because if they’re priced out of the average person’s pocket, then only rich people can get well.”

Gareth Edwards echoed those sentiments, underscoring the film’s central moral conflict.

“That’s the main dilemma the characters face. And I think, as a filmmaker, you live in a similar dilemma — you’re trying to make a lot of money for a studio that’s invested heavily, but you also want to make the best version of the film you possibly can.”

The Jurassic franchise began with Jurassic Park in 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. The original trilogy concluded with Jurassic Park III in 2001.

The series was later rebooted as Jurassic World in 2015, with Chris Pratt in the lead. That was followed by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.

Edwards, who grew up studying Spielberg’s work, was eager to pay homage to the original style of filmmaking.

“What this film is, I hope, is a kind of throwback to an era of filmmaking,” said Edwards.

“I grew up wanting to make films like Eighties and early Nineties movies. Our goal was universal. I wanted it to feel like a movie from the Nineties that they forgot they made.”

To achieve that nostalgic tone, Edwards shot the movie on 35mm film using Panavision cameras fitted with vintage lenses from the Eighties and Nineties.

“ Jurassic Park is perfect pure cinema,” he added. “You’re never going to get close to beating what Steven did with the original, and I never once thought I could. But I do hope we’ve made a film that’s worthy of it.”

Jurassic World Rebirth is in cinemas now.