Colin Trevorrow

After producing and directing the critically acclaimed science fiction comedy "Safety Not Guaranteed" (2012), Colin Trevorrow was elevated to the Hollywood feature fast track as director and co-writer of "Jurassic World" (2015), but the critical and commercial drubbing of quirky drama "The Book of Henry" (2017) led to a shift in his fortunes that eventually included his being removed from the director's chair of "Star Wars Episode IX" (2019) over reported creative differences. Born in San Francisco, California, Trevorrow was raised in Oakland, California, where he began making short films at the age of 12. He attended New York University's Tisch School for the Arts, where he befriended fellow student Derek Connolly while both were serving as interns at "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975-). After graduation, Trevorrow wrote and directed the short film "Home Base" (2002), a comedy-drama about a vengeful ex-boyfriend that proved extremely popular with online viewers. After selling his first feature script, a science fiction-action hybrid called "Tester," to DreamWorks Pictures in 2006, Trevorrow reunited with Connolly to pen a television series pilot called "Gary: Under Crisis." The pair soon minted a working relationship that produced a string of spec scripts, from the buddy cop comedy "Cocked and Loaded" to the sci-fi comedy "Hank." In 2012, Connolly penned and co-produced "Safety Not Guaranteed," a comedy about a magazine writer (Aubrey Plaza) who investigates a classified ad seeking companions for a time travel experience. The indie feature was a hit on the festival and arthouse circuits, reaping Best First Feature and Grand Jury Prize nominations for Trevorrow from the Independent Spirit Awards and Sundance Film Festival, respectively. More significantly, "Safety" served as the conduit to Hollywood for Trevorrow, who was soon signed with Connolly to write a remake of Walt Disney's "The Flight of the Navigator" (1986). While working on this particular project, Trevorrow and Connolly were also tapped by Universal and producer Steven Spielberg to direct and write "Jurassic World" (2015), the long-gestating fourth film in the "Jurassic Park" franchise. While completing work on the science fiction thriller, Trevorrow was announced as director for the film "The Book of Henry" (2017) from writer Gregg Hurwitz. Upon its release in June 2017, the film received an unusually vicious drubbing from critics, many of whom revealed the film's second-act twist while explaining their problems with the film's plot and tone, and it quickly disappeared from theaters. At the time, Trevorrow had been pegged to direct and cowrite (with Connolly) "Star Wars Episode IX" (2019), but reports of friction between Trevorrow and Lucasfilm executive Kathleen Kennedy led to his departure from the project in September 2017, replaced by J.J. Abrams. Trevorrow and Connolly did co-write the script for "Jurassic World" sequel "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018), and in March 2018, it was announced that he had been chosen to direct the third film in the series reboot.