Scarlett Johansson is one of the stars of Jurassic World Rebirth, and to hear her tell it, she’s been waiting for this moment for years. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Johansson spent years sending rumors of new Jurassic Park movies to her agents because she was simply that desperate to join the franchise.
“I was really crazy about the [original] film, and I slept in a Jurassic Park pup tent in my bedroom I shared with my sister for a year,” Johansson said about her enduring love for the franchise. “Anytime the trades would report a new ‘Jurassic’ movie, I would forward to my agents like, ‘Hey, I’m available.’”
Johansson added that she eventually landed a general meeting with Steven Spielberg to discuss potential collaborations, but all she wanted to talk about was Jurassic Park (Spielberg directed the first two films in the series).
“I hadn’t really sat with him and talked about work, and we spent hours just catching up and chatting, and then at some point, many hours into it, he was like, ‘Wait, we’re supposed to talk about Jurassic. Do I hear you’re a huge superfan?’” Johansson recalled. “I said, ‘It is actually true. I’m confirming. I’m a huge superfan.’”
She didn’t tell Spielberg that she slept in a themed tent as a whole year for fear of coming on too strong.
“Obviously with all the Avengers stuff you meet so many fans who are profoundly moved by the characters and the world that you’re a part of,” Johansson said. “I get it. It’s always wonderful to meet people like that. I probably should have just told him. But I was like, ‘Just be professional. Don’t seem desperate. Don’t mention the tent.’”
Now, Johansson is leaving her very own imprint on the franchise that she grew up loving.