Colin-TrevorrowColin Trevorrow made his feature debut last year with Safety Not Guaranteed, shot on a shoestring budget and released to very warm reviews (our 5*  review is up here and our interview with Mr. Trevorrow is here). It looks like the independent filmmaker’s life is about to change dramatically, as he’s just been announced as the director of Jurassic Park 4.

Deadline report that Trevorrow has signed on to take the helm for Universal and Steven Spielberg, directing the next sequel in the franchise, first begun by Spielberg back in 1993.

The film has been over a decade in the making, and is finally set to arrive in theatres next summer. As of yet, we’ve got no word on a synopsis, or if any of the original cast will be reprising their roles – in cameos or otherwise. But it’s definitely something to look forward to, now that the project has finally found its director.

Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) have penned the script, and Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley will be producing, with Spielberg himself serving as executive producer.

Trevorrow’s first feature film debuted at Sundance last year to brilliant reviews, and instantly became a favourite film of mine when I saw it at Sundance London. Since then, he’s announced that he’ll be reteaming with his Safety writer, Derek Connolly, to make another independent film, Intelligent Life, followed by a remake of Flight of the Navigator for Disney. We had thought that Intelligent Life would come next on his slate. But given the fact that Universal have already set Jurassic Park 4 for a Summer 2014 release date, it looks like the dino blockbuster will be up next.

Trevorrow is reported to have  met with the studio and original filmmakers, and they felt he was a good fit to take on the franchise, having grown up with the original trilogy.

He’s not the first filmmaker to go from an almost non-existent budget to a mammoth blockbuster like Jurassic Park 4. Gareth Edwards made a similar transition from his 2010 debut, Monsters, to his upcoming sophomore feature, Godzilla. The directors made two of the most memorable debuts in recent years, and it’s great to see that the big studios are taking notice of the independent industry.

Jurassic Park 4 will be hitting theatres in 3D on 13th June, 2014. And you’d better believe that with Trevorrow at the helm, it’s going to be amazing. More as we get it.