Everything We Know About Jurassic World 2
We’ve mined underground, sourced some amber and found an elusive mosquito – complete with ‘dino DNA!’ – and now, we’re looking at the potential building blocks of Jurassic World 2.
Here’s everything we know about Jurassic World 2…and we’ve spared no expense. When Jurassic World made its bow in 2015, the film was a monster hit, taking over $1.67 billion gross, which is no small feat for the fourth instalment of a film franchise that has lost its way somewhat after the risible Jurassic Park 3.
After nailing the relaunch of the franchise, talk inevitably turned to a follow up. Sticking to Jurassic World’s director and co-writer Colin Trevorrow’s vision of a Jurassic World trilogy, the second part will be written by Trevorrow and his writing partner Derek Connolly, who are currently working on the script.
However, the directing reins will be handed over to J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage) as Trevorrow takes his first step into a wider universe by being quite busy prepping to helm Star Wars: Episode IX in the near future.
Which brings us neatly to…
The script
Tailoring the script to Bayona’s specific talents, Trevorrow has already been talking up the horror aspect of the sequel:
“It will be more suspenseful and scary. It’s just the way it’s designed; it’s the way the story plays out. I knew I wanted Bayona to direct it long before anyone ever heard that was a possibility, so the whole thing was just built around his skillset.”
That director nurturing director dynamic – made famous by the twin beard collaborations between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas – that Trevorrow was keen to develop.
“Film has become so cutthroat and competitive; it felt like an opportunity to create a situation where two directors could really collaborate,” he said. “It’s rare these days, but it’s something that the directors that we admire used to do all the time—one writes and produces and the other directs, and the end result is something that’s unique to both of them. I’m in the office right now, I’ve been here every day since July working closely with J.A., listening to his instincts, and honing the script with Derek to make sure it’s something that all of us believe in.”
So what of that ‘something’ – what will the story itself be about? Discussing this very subject, Trevorrow has been saying that they are looking to expand some ideas introduced by Michael Crichton in the original novel and incorporate some real-world beliefs to make a compelling film:
“This one has to make a case for itself in another way. We’re all cynical about sequels and we probably grow more cynical every year so this also has prove that it has a reason to exist, beyond just making more money. And I believe it does. I think there’s a real story to be told here and more that’s all really sourced from [Michael] Crichton’s original ideas that can be expanded on…The thing I love the most about what he introduced is this idea that I think is so prevalent in our world today that a mistake made a long time ago just can’t be undone. When we look at even the wars that exist, the things we’re dealing with, these are all things that began long ago with choices that were made and you can’t put it back in the box. To be able to relate that to this world, the minute that they cloned a dinosaur, you can’t put that back in the box. And what could be the ultimate result of that?”
It certainly has a lot of potential. The strands developed in the Jurassic World – the mistake in question being the ‘open source’ dinosaurs that are now currently creating a bidding war between companies like inGen – but, there’s also another real world element built into this too; animal abuse.
Bayona himself said:
“The dinosaurs will be a parable of the treatment animals receive today: the abuse, medical experimentation, pets, having wild animals in zoos like prisons, the use the military has made of them, animals as weapons. The second part will be a very different movie that will explore new paths. For that reason, it was clear that it needed to be Bayona who would direct it, in order to have it grow and evolve with his very personal vision.”
So it’s not PETA more EATA! Get it? Because they eat people too! Hilarious!
The Cast
With all these story elements still being honed into a workable script, it might be a little premature to talk about who exactly will be running away from Dino’s in their high heels. Expected to return are Chris Pratt as Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire, but, one person who won’t be appearing is Dr Alan Grant himself, Sam Neil.
Speaking at the launch of Neill’s new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, he said of Grant’s fate:
“I think the problem is that no one knows where Alan Grant is anymore. He’s retired from paleontology. He’s sick to death of dinosaurs and running. He’s not quite as fleet of foot as he was, and he’s now retired to Dayton, Ohio, and has a very successful accountancy business. I think that’s what’s happened to Alan. Either that or he’s dead.
“How do you recover from all of that stuff? I don’t think therapists are trained to deal with post-dino stuff. No. I don’t think you get over it. Accountancy would be one way.”
Alan Grant: Dino Accountant!
The Dinosaurs
While the impulse might be to up the ante with the rumoured $240 million budget – bigger dinosaurs! More CGI! – Trevorrow is not ready to abandon the use of practical effects when creating their dinosaurs in favour of CGI.
“There will be animatronics for sure. We’ll follow the same general rule as all of the films in the franchise which is the animatronic dinosaurs are best used when standing still or moving at the hips or the neck. They can’t run or perform complex physical actions, and anything beyond that you go to animation. The same rules applied in Jurassic Park.”
Release Date
Jurassic World 2 opens in U.S. theatres on June 22nd, 2018.
