After lurking in the bushes of limbo for years, occasionally leaping out with tales of genetically modified soldier dinos and cities overrun, word on Jurassic Park 4 seemed destined to stay as rumour. But then last year, shortly before Comic-Con, word emerged that head warden Steven Spielberg was developing other ideas for the fourth trip to Isla Nubla and its environs with Mark Protosevich. At the event itself last July, Spielberg confirmed that they were working on stories. Fast-forward to today, and Deadline reports that Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes writing team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are aboard to craft the script.

Given their experiences with genetically tinkered creatures gone wild, they seem like a good call, especially since they were able to inject so much real feeling into what could have been your average ape adventure.

Details are naturally scarce, with Spielberg and co-producer Kathleen Kennedy guarding information like a T-Rex protecting its young. We do know, however, that the man who brought us the first two movies is handing over the megaphone to someone else, as he did with Joe Johnston and Jurassic Park 3.

For now, the project remains snuffling in the development undergrowth, but this is another real sign of life. If you’re craving actual dino footage, however, you’ll have to wait until the original movie arrives back in cinemas with a 3D conversion on July 19, 2013 in the States and possibly the same day here.