Writer-director Colin Trevorrow is about to head to Hawaii to start work on his second feature film – namely the Jurassic Park sequel Jurassic World.

Before he commences principal photography however, the Safety Not Guaranteed director granted IGN an interview to discuss some of the rumours that have been swirling around the project, and to announce one unexpected but actually pretty logical piece of casting news...

IGN: Writing and directing a Jurassic Park movie is a pretty big step-up from Safety Not Guaranteed in terms of scope and scale. What’s been the biggest challenge thus far?

Colin Trevorrow: Getting the script right was the tough part. There are a hundred different ways to tell any story, finding the right one takes persistence. Jurassic Park movies don’t fit into a specific genre. They’re sci-fi adventures that also have to be funny, emotional and scary as hell. That takes a lot of construction, but it can’t feel designed. The characters have to be authentic, the situations real. Derek [Connolly, co-writer on the film] and I started with a blank page and worked all the way through the summer. The process got easier when we decided not to rush to meet that 2014 release date. There just wasn’t enough time. Steven [Spielberg] had the foresight to make that call, the studio was supportive, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

IGN: Can you tell us anything about how the film will look?

Trevorrow: We’re shooting 35mm and 65mm film. We’re also using an aspect ratio that hasn’t been seen theatrically in a very long time. The movie will be presented in 2 to 1. It’s basically a middle ground between 2.35 and 1.85. It allows us enough height to fit humans and dinosaurs into a single frame, without giving up that sense of scope. It’s very close to the ratio of the digital IMAX screens, so it will look great in large format. I think other filmmakers will want to give it a try when they see how it looks. It’s very comfortable.

IGN: Will any of the characters from the original films be returning for this one?

Trevorrow: I know a lot of fans want to see the original characters back. They’re iconic. But I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons. Jurassic Park isn’t about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they’d go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go. But there is a character from the first film who makes sense in our world. This hasn’t been announced yet, but BD Wong will be returning as Dr. Henry Wu. He had a much larger role in the original novel, he was the engineer of this breakthrough in de-extinction. He spent two decades living in Hammond’s shadow, underappreciated. We think there’s more to his story.

IGN: What can you tell us about Chris Pratt’s character in the movie?

Trevorrow: He’s a classic hero in a very modern context. He’s the guy who will get you through the jungle alive – but like Malcolm, Grant and Sattler, he’s an expert in a scientific field that’s connected to our story. The character allows us to explore some new ideas about our relationship with these animals, without losing the humor and sense of adventure. He’s a great contrast for Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, who starts off very corporate, very controlled. Until the running and screaming starts. Then they need each other.

IGN: How will your Jurassic movie differ to the previous films?

Trevorrow: I’m not on a mission to separate this film from the ones that came before. That will happen naturally – I have different instincts. But, like a lot of people my age, I grew up on Amblin movies. They’re a part of who I am as a filmmaker, and arguably as a person. This film will have a lot of new ideas in it, but I think the spirit will be familiar. It will have an old soul.

Among the panoply of filmmakers to have contributed to Empire’s latest and 300thest issue – Coppola! Spielberg! Whedon! Fincher! – a less familiar name, Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow, chips in with a fascinating status report from his dino disaster movie. The big news? That Universal has further Jurassic movies planned and Trevorrow is keen to direct them - “if they’ll have me”. Warning: minor spoilers follow.

“We definitely talked about [sequels] a lot,” the director/co-writer revealed. “We wanted to create something that would be a little bit less arbitrary and episodic, and something that could potentially arc into a series that would feel like a complete story.”

With those story arcs already in place, Trevorrow hinted at the characters likely to participate in them across further films. One of them is cast newbie and Untouchable star Omar Sy. “He’s essentially Chris Pratt’s best friend,” he said of the Sy character. “They work together and have some pretty cool action scenes together. I wanted to create a relationship there that could be memorable and potentially carry on to future films.”

Before anyone points and shouts ‘Spoilersaurus!’, Trevorrow did say “could” rather than “will”. There’s still a chance, albeit a slender one, that Pratt’s ex-military man will still end up on a pterodactyl’s water biscuit.

While it’s well-known that Jurassic World revisits the Isla Nublar 22 years after the events depicted in Jurassic Park – the film’s shoot is currently underway in Hawaii, before heading to New Orleans – the specifics of what exactly has come to pass, dino-wise, in the intervening period are remaining under wraps. Trevorrow, though, was happy to confirm that he’ll be using animatronic dinosaurs and elaborated on the movie's broader set-up.

“It’s about alpha dominance and the fact that humans have been the alpha species for a very long time", he explained, "and so now we’ve brought back another that happened to be the alpha species during its time, and we have to co-exist, so what is that relationship?”

Jurassic World, which is set for release on June 12 next year, also stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins and some massively angry ‘sauruses. For much more on the movie – and many other movies – pick up a copy of Empire’s June issue from Thursday.