Rebirth’ Toys From Target [Exclusive]

A new Jurassic World film is stomping into theaters this year, and with it will come the Rebirth of an exciting program for dinosaur lovers — Beyond the Gates. Target has once again teamed with Mattel and Universal to bring back the initiative designed to deliver exclusive movie-accurate toys based on the towering creatures seen in the latest adventure from director Gareth Edwards. With the return of the collection also comes a new iteration of the preview web series of the same name, which brought viewers into the jungle to discover what these new toys are capable of. Beyond the Gates: Creator Edition will be a more fan-centric show, tapping online Jurassic content creators to spread their love of the series and promote the new collectibles up for grabs. Collider is excited to offer not just an exclusive look at three of the toys on offer, but a preview of the series with comments from Neemz Nakhshab, better known online as the creator behind the Jurassic Your World account.

All the new Mattel toys bring to life dinosaurs that will take center stage in Jurassic World Rebirth, starting with the Mosasaurus. The watery reptile, known for dragging the Indominus Rex to its watery grave, is back with a 37-inch-long Super Colossal figure with poseable joints for maximum action and battle readiness. Its defining feature, though, is its ability to swallow mini dinosaur toys with its massive jaws and later release them with a stomach that can be unlatched for carnivorous replayability. Next up in Target’s lineup is the Spinosaurus Danger Set, not only including the titular dino but coming packed with 3.75-inch figures of the film’s leads, covert operation expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), packed with accessories like a two-part dart gun, knife, flare gun, and more. On the foot of the Spinosaurus is also tracking code that can be scanned with the Jurassic World Play App on Android or iOS to play around with a digital version in a variety of games. Last but not least is the Herbivore Titanosaurus, which lives up to its name by spanning 60 inches long from tip to tail and includes the same app interactivity.

Capturing these toys will come with a cost, of course. The Mosasaurus and Titanosaurus will have the biggest price tags to go with their size, selling for $69.99 each, while the Spinosaurus set goes for $34.99. Nakhshab is the perfect person to promote these collectibles, given his long love of the Jurassic franchise, dating back to the original Steven Spielberg classic he saw as a kid. “In 1994, at just four years old, I ran up to a VHS display in the store, begging my Mom to buy me the Steven Spielberg dinosaur movie that had completely captured my attention,” he told Collider’s Samantha Coley when asked about how he went from casual fan to community leader. “That movie was Jurassic Park — I remember being so excited, and when we got home, I watched the entire film with my Dad for the very first time.” His first viewing sparked a fandom that, during the ramp-up to the first Jurassic World, inspired him to express his passion through art and unexpectedly catch the attention of Universal and the creatives behind the film:

“Flash-forward to 2015 where I started creating fan art leading up to the release of Jurassic World. By 2018, I continued designing movie poster-style fan art for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. During that time, directors Colin Trevorrow and J.A. Bayona came across my work and began sharing it on their social media channels, which was incredibly surreal. Shortly after Rob Mankin, John Paul Fukumae and the rest of the digital marketing team at Universal Pictures at the time took notice and asked me to design my very first official movie poster to coincide with the release of Fallen Kingdom. That moment marked the beginning of an incredible relationship with Universal Pictures. Having people believe in you and something you are passionate about really makes a huge difference. It was then up to me to work really hard and to show the world what I could do. Over the next few years, I had the incredible honor of working on and designing for numerous amazing Jurassic Park and Jurassic World projects—an experience that wouldn’t have been possible without the vision, guidance, and genuine belief in me from the talented Jeremiah Schaeffer and his team.”

Having already found success with his art account, The Movie Poster Guy, he created his dedicated Jurassic account during the pandemic as a way to build a community during the franchise’s revitalized run with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. The Instagram page now has over 210,000 followers and allows Nakhshab to do a bit of good, in addition to creating content for the series he loves:

“Shortly after the pandemic began, I launched a dedicated Instagram account—@JurassicYourWorld—as a space to celebrate all things Jurassic World, separate from my main artist page, @TheMoviePosterGuy. The account grew rapidly and continues to thrive alongside the franchise’s momentum. I’m incredibly grateful for the engaged community we’ve built—sharing our passion for Jurassic World together. I also get to utilize that platform to do good in the world like hosting Jurassic toy drives during the holidays and more. I am so grateful to be a part of this iconic franchise and for the experiences I get to be a part of. I hope the fans enjoy the art and content I create everyday for Jurassic World.”

Nakhshab Jumped at the Chance to Bring His Fandom to ‘Beyond the Gates’

Nakhshab was already well aware of Beyond the Gates and its fan-centric approach before being asked to take part in the Creator Edition. “Beyond The Gates was an awesome series created by incredibly talented fans for the fans,” he added. “The brilliant showrunner Kat Camagong at Universal liked my work and asked me to be a part of the next iteration of the series alongside other really talented artists.” Getting the chance to use his passion and knowledge to get a new generation of fans excited was something he was more than ready for, saying that, “it’s been such an awesome experience collaborating with her team, and the partners at Mattel and Target ever since.”

Of the line of figures he got to preview and promote, he found something to like about all three items, whether it related to their size or accuracy to the upcoming movie. When asked what he’d like to see if given the chance to design a toy, he expressed his interest in a new collectible honoring Laura Dern‘s iconic paleobotanist in a collaboration with Barbie:

“I think the sheer size of these figures is so impressive. The Titanosaurus and the Super Colossal Mosasaurus both seriously live up to their names. I also love the Dr. Henry Loomis and Zora Bennett human figures. It’s funny—I actually wouldn’t design a dinosaur toy, especially with Mattel already doing such an incredible job. However, I would love to work on a special edition — Dr. Ellie Sattler Barbie for their Inspiring Women doll series and help bring that vision to life. I always thought that would be such a cool and unique collectible.”

Though the series has evolved so much since he first watched the original with his dad, Nakhshab stands by Jurassic Park as his favorite film ever made. To this day, the franchise’s inaugural outing to Isla Nublar remains its best in the eyes of many, marrying horror elements with iconic characters, great writing, and groundbreaking visual effects that helped breathe life back into dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus and velociraptors. That said, the content creator also has a fondness for its Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum)-centric 1997 follow-up, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, as well as more modern projects like Jurassic World: Chaos Theory that have found new ways to explore the world established by Michael Crichton‘s landmark novel:

“I have so many fond memories of The Lost World era and it will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will always be grateful for Jurassic World as it brought the franchise back to life — But honestly, depending on the day, I find a reason to call each movie in the franchise my favorite. The animated show Jurassic World: Chaos Theory on Netflix is really awesome and extremely well done too!”

Nakhshab Has Some Tips for Preparing for a ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Display

For the mega-fans like him who can’t wait to see what comes next in Rebirth and are interested in starting their own merch collections, Nakhshab has a few important tips. With the new Target exclusive Mattel figures and many more items to come in the run-up to the new film, as well as all the existing dinosaur toys out there, he recommends “investing in a really big shelf as there are A LOT of incredible Jurassic World species and more as figures.” Anyone who’s into constructing and photographing scenes using their figures, he believes, should look to the great outdoors and all the materials Mother Nature provides to give each set a more realistic feeling that fits with the movies’ aesthetic:

“I’m a strong advocate for using the outdoors as a natural set for toy photography. Living in Southern California, I’m fortunate to have access to a wide variety of terrain that brings each scene to life. When a controlled environment is needed, I often recreate outdoor elements indoors—using dirt, sticks, moss, rocks, and more to build immersive setups, especially for Jurassic World-themed shoots. Smaller plants often scale perfectly with the Jurassic World mainline figures, making the scenes even more realistic. I’m also a big fan of incorporating atmospheric fog spray to add a cinematic depth and mood to each composition.”

Rebirth isn’t likely to change Nakhshab’s opinions on his favorite dinosaurs, as he shared, “My favorite will always be the queen — the original Tyrannosaurus rex — closely followed by the Ceratosaurus.” However, there’s a lot he wants to see from Edwards’s take on the franchise based on what was revealed in the trailer. The film will take viewers back to the research facility for the original Jurassic Park, where Zora and her team of special operatives join Dr. Loomis in a secret operation to bring back genetic DNA from the three largest remaining dinosaurs across the land, sea, and air. Their genes are to be used in a revolutionary drug that can save countless lives, but acquiring everything will become a problem as the team discovers the sinister, dangerous secrets the area has kept hidden from the world.

We see a few of the Mattel exclusives pop up in the trailer, with the Mosasaurus in particular making quite the splash against Zora and Henry’s boat in the final moments. Beyond seeing them all, Nakhshab personally has a few scenes that he wants to see to their conclusion, and some unseen creatures he can’t wait to be brought into the light:

“I’m anxiously waiting to see what’s in store and what we’ll see on the big screen in Jurassic World Rebirth! I’m really excited to see the new T-Rex and the river chase scene, which was in the original Jurassic Park novel by Michael Crichton, come to life! I’m also super interested to see what the giant mysterious creature is that we see in the trailer. It’s going to be epic. See you all in theaters!”

The new Jurassic World Rebirth toys are now available to pre-order from Target and will be officially released on June 1, giving plenty of time to play before the film hits theaters on July 2. Stay tuned to Beyond the Gates: Creator Edition in the coming weeks for more on the collectibles that will be taking over Target. Get an exclusive look at the toys and the first episode in the gallery and player above, and visit the link below to see how to capture some dinosaurs for yourself.

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