Colin Trevorrow on his mysterious Atlantis sci-fi project: It's the 'right moment for that story'

Now that Jurassic World: Dominion is nearing its theatrical release, director Colin Trevorrow can finally dive headfirst (pun very much intended) into his upcoming original feature centered around the lost continent Atlantis.

You heard us right: this is a lost continent, not the sunken city we've seen a million times throughout pop culture. Per the initial synopsis provided by Deadline, this iteration of the mythical locale can be found in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Africa, India, and Oceania — and contains a culture full of advanced technology the likes of which humanity has never seen.

Currently in development at Universal Pictures, the splashy project was first announced in the summer of 2020. Since that time, however, there have been no updates on the movie...until, now. Thanks to a new interview published by Empire, the first teasers regarding Trevorrow's Atlantean adventure are finally rising out of the murky depths of the ocean.

“It’s the only thing that equals dinosaurs dinosaurs for me. I guess I tend to go back to the past," the filmmaker states in the magazine's February 2022 issue (now on sale). "But you know, it was the first time that we had technology and it was at a time when we had other kinds of creatures that aren’t around anymore. There are just so many things about it that are fascinating to me. So yeah, I’m a deep nerd for it."

Deep? Ha! We see what you did there, Mr. Trevorrow. The director — who will produce under his Metronome Film Co. banner — conceived of the original screen story alongside Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies). Dante Harper (a co-writer on Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant) was hired to whip the concept into a full-on screenplay, with Kevin Jenkins (Jurassic World: Dominion, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) attached as production designer. Jenkins is fleshing out the visual aesthetic with some help from Fallen Kingdom and Dominion storyboard artist, David Allcock, whose blockbuster credits also include: The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, No Time to Die, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Trevorrow was tight-lipped when it came to the subject of specific plot details, but did promise that the film is an allegory for generational apathy. “For a generation right now to be able to enter a world that is not unlike their world — where their elders have basically gifted them a civilization that is dying — I think it is the right moment for that story," he concluded.

Jurassic World: Dominion opens in theaters on June 10, 2022.

(Universal Pictures and SYFY WIRE are both owned by NBCUniversal.)