With Jurassic World generating well over $1.6 billion and making one of the biggest opening splashes in box office history, we all knew a sequel was coming. Lead Chris Pratt even signed on for a sequel just about a year ago. And now, Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and producer Frank Marshall have confirmed the sequel’s director: indie Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona.

Just who is J.A. Bayona?

According to reports, he has had a rather prolific career . Before jumping into the pool of Hollywood, Bayona’s background consisted of music videos, commercials, and short films. His debut film was 2007’s Spanish supernatural horror mystery film The Orphanage , which became more of a success than Pan’s Labyrinth , another Spanish film.

Since then, Bayona was considered to direct the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse , but was not interested (the film has a 49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes ). Additionally, Bayona was in discussion for the directorial role of the World War Z sequel , but he denied that, ostensibly to take this other, perhaps more profitable sequel Jurassic World 2 .

A few months ago, Colin Trevorrow was confirmed to direct Star Wars Episode IX . Since Trevorrow was on a much bigger project, he had to leave the role of directing Jurassic World 2 to someone else, but he didn’t want just anyone to direct it. In collaboration with Jurassic World screenwriter Derek Conolly, Trevorrow wanted a good script before searching for a director. Since the two have confirmed the director, we can assume the script is good. Interestingly, both Trevorrow and Marshall are fans of J.A. Bayona.

And how could you not be a fan? His most successful project, The Impossible , starring Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland), currently holds an 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes . Furthermore, the film received a perfect rating from acclaimed and influential film critic Roger Ebert — no easy feat, mind you — and a plethora of other accolades. The film also earned four times its budget: it had a budget of approximately $45 million and grossed an estimated $180 million worldwide. If that’s not a success, then I don’t know what is.

Having a new director in charge of a sequel is an alarming thing. However, Colin Trevorrow will still have a small hand in the project. As aforementioned, he wrote the script with Derek Conolly. How else Trevorrow will be involved with the Jurassic World 2 project is yet to be seen, but with a track record like Bayona’s, the film is in good hands. Fans will see when the film releases mid-2018.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]