Scarlett Johansson says it was "brutal" filming 'Jurassic World Rebirth' in the scorching heat of Malta

Scarlett told Empire magazine: "There was no escape from the sun.

"It was just baking every day. And you're on this rig, 30 feet in the air or whatever it is, and it's moving up and down and sideways, and there's all this water being shot out of these cannons towards you. It was brutal.

"To do it one day would be hard. But to do it continuously for, like, six weeks or whatever..."

The movie's director Gareth Edwards admits that he did feel sympathy for his cast as they made the flick in gruelling conditions.

The 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' filmmaker recalled: "At the end of each day, I'd try and reassure them that tomorrow was going to be easier because of this reason.

"And then the next day would be even harder for either precisely the same reason, or a brand-new other reason. After a while, they just stopped believing me."

Edwards has hinted that 'Jurassic World Rebirth', which will be released in cinemas in July, will be darker in tone than previous movies and suggested that it is a "horror film".

The director said: "It's really a horror film.

"It's the sort of horror you enjoy, rather than stuff that will traumatise you forever. Like the way people enjoy fairground rides. But it's full-on darkness, right?"

Edwards has long been a fan of the 'Jurassic Park' franchise after watching the original movie in 1993 at the age of 18 and was daunted by the prospect of guiding the film's iconic director Steven Spielberg - who serves as an ex ecutive producer on 'Jurassic World Rebirth' - around the set.

The 49-year-old filmmaker said: "The only thing I can compare it to is having to show George Lucas around the set of a 'Star Wars' film.

"I definitely believe I am in the Matrix and I chose 'film director' as my simulation, because this shouldn't really happen."

The flick feature a new set of characters, with Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey both appearing in the movie, and screenwriter David Koepp revealed that it was an easy decision to launch a fresh start for the franchise.

The scribe said: "We decided early on that, because the first and second trilogies have concluded their stories, let's not restrict ourselves in any way - let's have all-new characters in an all-new location."