(CTN News) – Thailand officials have strongly warned “Jurassic World” producers not to harm beaches and national parks while filming the next installment of the blockbuster franchise in the kingdom.
Scarlett Johansson, a Hollywood actress, is set to star in the seventh installment of the long-running dinosaur series.
Parts of the film, which has not yet been titled but is set to be released next year, will be shot in Bangkok and at national parks in Krabi, Phuket, Phang-nga, and Trang beginning next week and continuing through July.
Locations include the beautiful island of Ko Kradan off the kingdom’s west coast and the Huay To waterfall in Khao Phanom Bencha National Park.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan stated that Thailand was “honoured” to host the filming.
“However, it is strictly required that they comply with relevant laws and regulations, and must not affect and damage natural resources and the environment,” Phatcharavat said in a statement posted Wednesday on the Department of National Parks Facebook page.
The warning comes more than two decades after Leonardo DiCaprio’s backpacker thriller “The Beach” sparked global outrage for depicting the pristine dunes of Maya Bay on the southern Thai island of Ko Phi Phi Leh.
Producers planted dozens of coconut trees to give the bay a more “tropical” feel, and they were accused of removing flora growing on dunes.
The head of the Department of National Parks, Athapol Charoenshunsa, stated that they had learned from previous experiences and that officials would monitor filming closely.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in March that Johansson, 39, was in talks to star in the next dinosaur film directed by Briton Gareth Edwards, whose 2023 sci-fi action film “The Creator” was also partially shot in Thailand.
The original 1993 “Jurassic Park” film, based on a Michael Crichton novel directed by Steven Spielberg, was a huge success, as was the 2015 reboot “Jurassic World.”.