Scarlett Johansson has told RTÉ Entertainment that she is living her "childhood dream" by starring in Jurassic World Rebirth, as Steven Spielberg's original Jurassic Park was one of the first films she saw in the cinema.
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Johansson channels her inner Ripley - her sleeveless vest and action hero smarts a nod to Alien's Sigourney Weaver - in the new mission movie from director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Creator).
Johansson's covert operative Zora Bennett is joined by paleontologist Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) as they try to extract dinosaur blood and tissue as part of a pharmaceutical company's plan to make a drug that could save the lives of millions.
Such was Johansson's devotion to all things Jurassic that over the past 15 years she had "reached out" every time a new film was in the pipeline.
After Jurassic World Rebirth was greenlit, executive producer Steven Spielberg told director Edwards that Johansson had been "hassling me for months and months about being in a Jurassic film".
A deal was done almost immediately.
"I was a Jurassic Park kid," Johansson told RTÉ Entertainment.
"It had to be one of the first movies [I saw]. I don't remember seeing anything before Jurassic. I was 10!
"I definitely did see movies before Jurassic, but none of them hit like Jurassic. I remember the second time I felt like that was when I saw Titanic in the theatre. It was that feeling of just awe.
"I remember the scene when they first see the Brontosaurus (Brachiosaurus), when they first encounter them... and then he (Sam Neill as Alan Grant) climbs out of the car and whatever, and she (Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler) turns her head...
"That moment and then John Williams' music, I remember just being... I could not believe how it looked. And it holds up."
The new film should also please other lovers of the blockbuster IP as it channels the spirit of Spielberg's 1993 classic with action, suspense, and loads of big footprints.
Jurassic World Rebirth's 2 July release is remarkable given that Johansson and co only started filming it in June of last year.
Recalling the physical demands placed on the stars during action scenes in the wilds of Thailand, director Edwards told Empire magazine: "Most actors would have walked off set, given the circumstances."
"It was unpleasant sometimes!" Johansson told RTÉ Entertainment.
"I would say the locations were incredible, but they were, like, uninhabitable places. And certainly, when you take a crew of people... we had probably 700 crew members sometimes. I think there were 500 Thai crew members and we had a couple of hundred crew members from Europe. You're bringing in, like, all facility - electric, everything - into a place... a place that is full of its own tropical surprises!
"It was incredible and you couldn't believe the beauty and majesty of where you were, and working in those locations, they were tough at times!"
When asked what's in store for today's 10-year-olds who go to see Jurassic World Rebirth, Johansson kept it short so as not to spoil any surprises.
"Three types of dinosaurs that have never been seen..." she smiled.
Jurassic World Rebirth is in cinemas now.
