Talk about a leap. Not since Rupert Wyatt jumped from making The Escapist to taking on Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes has a director faced such a surge in budget and audience expectations. But it’s true: Colin Trevorrow, who made his fiction-directing debut with last year’s Safety Not Guaranteed, has been hired to tackle Jurassic Park 4.

Ever since Steven Spielberg ended years of speculation and rumour development when he let slip in 2011 that he and Universal were officially pushing forward with a fourth burst of dino-mite, the project has taken on the speed of a hungry Velociraptor.

Mark Protosevich wrote the first draft, which has since been re-worked by Apes team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. The plot is still being kept a secret, but we’re guessing dinosaurs are somehow involved. Will they have gotten off the island again?

Now Spielberg has decided to anoint Trevorrow as the man for the job. Given that we rather enjoyed Safety, it’s a choice we’re intrigued to see play out. Apparently Trevorrow convinced everyone involved – including producer Frank Marshall – of his bona fide love for the first three movies and his dedication to keeping the feeling of particularly the original intact.

To date, only Spielberg and Joe Johnston have directed Jurassic Park movies, so it’s going to be interesting to see what Trevorrow does. He’ll be shooting this year for a planned June 13, 2014 release date. The original trip to Isla Nublar, meanwhile, will be back on our screens in 3D on August 30.

We talked to Trevorrow about Safety for the podcast; you can hear that below. Just think: there was a time when he was considered a possible candidate to direct Star Wars Episode VII. How quickly they grow up...