Although he didn’t direct Jurᴀssic World Rebirth, one of Steven Spielberg’s key rules had a major impact on the film, something that the franchise’s latest director has revealed. Steven Spielberg was the mind behind the first two Jurᴀssic Park movies, and his directorial touch and magic are considered to be what made the 1993 original film so great.

According to Vanity Fair, Steven Spielberg “hates quoting himself.” Jurᴀssic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards explained that, after Spielberg and writer David Koepp watched the film, their final note was to “take out all the nods and references to all the previous Spielberg films and Jurᴀssic Park Easter eggs.”

Edwards disagreed with the note, but he said he could understand why Spielberg “feels like a snake eating its own tail“ with the self-references. Thus, Edwards removed an appearance from Mr. DNA, a character from the original Jurᴀssic Park, as well as a different opening. Here are Edwards’ full comments:

“And then, the last [note] was, ‘By the way, take out all the nods and references to all the previous Spielberg films and Jurᴀssic Park Easter eggs.’ It was one of those things where I disagree, and nod, and write it down, and see what happens over the next few months. It probably feels like a snake eating its own tail. I wouldn’t want to do that if I was them. But—because I’m not them, and I’m a fan, and I love their work, and so does the rest of the world, I feel like [they’re] the only people in the world that have a problem with this.

The opening of the movie used to start with these primates watching, the trees are moving, and there are some monsters there. It turns out, it’s a giant digger destroying the rainforest. They’re building the laboratory in the middle of the jungle, and then the prologue begins… We mocked [Mr. DNA] up really crudely in an early cut. And yeah, I got slapped on the wrist for that.”

What Steven Spielberg’s Rule Means For Jurᴀssic World Rebirth

How It Changed The Sequel

Obviously, cutting Mr. DNA and changing the film’s opening are two big Jurᴀssic World Rebirth changes that came as a result of Steven Spielberg’s rule. However, this rule is probably a good thing overall, as it prevents sequels to Spielberg movies from becoming too reliant on nostalgia and Easter eggs.

However, Gareth Edwards didn’t fully follow Spielberg’s wishes. Edwards has already confirmed that Jurᴀssic World Rebirth contains a Jaws Easter egg, which was a 1975 movie directed by Spielberg. However, it seems that the more in-your-face references are gone in favor of subtle background Easter eggs.

Our Take On Steven Spielberg’s Jurᴀssic World Rebirth Changes

It Made The Film A Better Legacy Seuqel

I think it is good for sequels to Spielberg projects to not to heavily rely on callbacks to the director’s original films. While the more subtle Easter eggs work, things like Mr. DNA are too obvious, making the Jurᴀssic Park sequels feel less like standalone stories and more like legacy sequels that are banking on nostalgia.

An over-reliance on iconography from previous films is something that a lot of legacy sequels have struggled with, especially in franchises like Ghostbusters and The Matrix. Spielberg probably recognized this issue and made this request in the hopes of making Jurᴀssic World Rebirth better.