Thailand warns “Jurassic World” producers about the impact of filming June 7, 2024

Phang-nga Bay, northeast of Phuket, Thailand, on October 30, 2021 (Mladen ANTONOV)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Thailand warns “Jurassic World” producers about the impact of filming

Thai authorities have issued “Jurassic World” producers with a stern warning not to damage beaches and national parks when filming the next installment of the blockbuster franchise in the kingdom.

Hollywood superstar Scarlett Johansson has reportedly been cast to star in the seventh film in the long-running dinosaur series.

Filming for parts of the movie - as yet untitled but due for release next year - will take place in Bangkok and national parks in Krabi, Phuket, Phang-nga and Trang, starting next week and running until July.

Locations include the lush island of Ko Kradan on the kingdom's west coast and the Huay To waterfall in Khao Phanom Bencha National Park.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan said Thailand was “honored” to host the filming.

“However, it is strictly necessary that they comply with the relevant laws and regulations and do not affect and damage natural resources and the environment,” Phatcharavat said in a statement published on Wednesday on the Department of National Parks' Facebook page.

The warning comes more than two decades after Leonardo DiCaprio's backpacker thriller film “The Beach” attracted widespread criticism for its impact on the pristine sands of Maya Bay on the island of Ko Phi Phi Leh in southern Thailand.

The producers planted dozens of coconut trees to give the bay a more “tropical” look and were accused of uprooting the vegetation growing on the dunes.

Athapol Charoenshunsa, head of the National Parks Department, said that they had learned from experience and that the authorities would keep a close eye on the filming.

The Hollywood Reporter said in March that Johansson, 39, was in talks to star in the next dinosaur movie, directed by Britain's Gareth Edwards, whose 2023 sci-fi action film “The Creator” was also partly filmed in Thailand.

The original 1993 film “Jurassic Park”, based on a novel by Michael Crichton and directed by Steven Spielberg, was a colossal success, as was the 2015 reboot, “Jurassic World”.

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