2015’s Jurassic
World was everything us JP fanboys needed. It brought the franchise that
marked our childhoods back to life in the grandest of ways: a fully operational
park, just like Hammond imagined, plenty of easter eggs and nostalgic nods to
the first movie, and of course fantastic action sequences and a terrifying new
dinosaur species. Much like the dinos in the movie, Jurassic World ran amok at
the box the box office, generating over $500 million in its opening weekend,
and becoming the third-highest grossing movie of all time**.
Within four months Universal Pictures
announced a sequel which is to be released June 22, 2018. Little is known about
the plots at this point, but let’s just channel our inner Mr. DNA and see how
much we can ‘fill in’ about the upcoming release.
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“We’re not always going to be the only ones who can make a dinosaur”
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With dinosaur cloning so far exclusively
available to John Hammond’s InGen and later Simon Masrani’s Masrani Global, geneticist Henry Wu's successful escape
from the island with a number of embryos at the end of JW is something
bound to develop into another exciting scenario. The ambitious scientist’s next
move will be an interesting one. Will he sell to the highest bidder? Will he continue
his experiments with hybrids? Either way, as Wu says in the movie when he warns
Masrani, ‘We’re not always going to be
the only ones who can make a dinosaur’, I feel that all bets will be off in
JW2. When dinosaur cloning becomes open source, there’s no way of predicting
the outcome.
What
we know for sure: Henry Wu has escaped the island with a number of embryos.
JW/JP4 had been in the making for many
years, with several writers coming in to work on it at different times. It is
known that at one point the script focused on ‘weaponized dinosaurs’, with some zany concept art
to show for it. Enter Vic Hoskins, Jurassic World’s head of security, who is
obsessed with weaponizing predatory dinosaurs. Hoskins participated in the
IBRIS Project which was designed to train Velociraptors to obey commands. It is
very likely that that the concept of dinos as ‘war beasts’ will be explored further
in the sequel.
Additionally, Colin Trevorrow has hinted in
interviews that he definitely sees applications for cloning beyond
entertainment. This could mean that the theme park/island chase formula has
probably run its course.
What
we know for sure: JP writers have long been obsessed with weaponized dinosaurs.
If you’ve been clicking around on MasraniGlobal.com,
a wonderful piece of JW marketing, you may have stumbled upon an excerpt that
mentions Masrani’s Martel expedition in Siberia. Having yielded an abundance of
highly preserved carcasses, it is not entirely out of the question that the
company could recreate animals from the Cenozoic era, such as woolly mammoths,
saber-toothed tigers and glyptodons.
With Trevorrow stating that he wants to
further explore bringing extinct animals back to life and how the world evolves
in relation to these animals and animals
in general, it is not out of the question that JW2 will be
bigger than dinosaurs.
What
we know for sure: Trevorrow wants to focus more on the relationship between
dinosaurs and man.
Conflicting rumors exist on JW2’s timeline.
Some say that the events of the sequel closely follow the events of JW, with
Claire and Owen on a mission to address the trail of problems after the
Indominus disaster. Others suggest a time leap, with JW2 picking up several
years later, in a future where dinosaurs are possibly already in use as
military weapons.
What
we know for sure: Jurassic World 2 will expand the Jurassic franchise and its
universe.
Where will JW2 take place?
We are done with theme parks. Colin
Trevorrow has stated that Jurassic World 2 will not be about dinosaurs chasing
people on an island, suggesting that that particular formula ended with JW.
After two failed theme parks, good luck revisiting the idea a third time! If we
read further into Trevorrow’s comment, this could possibly hint at dinosaurs
roaming the mainland. All this underscores that the new trilogy will indeed
tell an overarching story, building on previous events.
What
we know for sure: The sequel will not feature a dinosaur theme park or an
island full of dinosaurs.
As of yet, it is unknown where on the
mainland JW2 will take place. Since Wu ran off to Costa Rica, it is rumored
that the sequel’s plot will take place there. But of course anything could
happen. There have also been rumors that location scouts have been checking out
London, which would be awesome, but could very well be much ado about nothing.
Note that Trevorrow will be setting up base in London’s Pinewood Studios for Star Wars: Episode IX, which could be
how the rumor originated.
What
we know for sure: Jurassic World 2 will take place on the mainland.
What will the cast look like?
Raptor trainer Owen Grady and park
operations manager Claire Dearing were the lead characters in Jurassic World.
It has been confirmed that Chris Pratt
and Bryce Dallas-Howard will reprise their roles as the brawn and the
brains, respectively. Both Trevorrow and Dallas-Howard have hinted that Pratt’s
character Owen will take a backseat to the high-heel wearing Claire, who will
reportedly be a ‘completely different person’ in JW2. Trevorrow even went as
far as to reveal that BDH’s character will evolve the most over the new
trilogy.
What
we know for sure: Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard will reprise their roles
as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing.
Since
B.D. Wong’s character Dr. Henry Wu has an expanded role in Jurassic World
and is seen escaping Isla Nublar at the end of the movie, it is safe to assume
that the scienctist will return in the sequel. Colin Trevorrow even said that
after two decades of living in Hammond’s shadow, there’s definitely more to
Wu’s story. In JW, he was working with
Vic Hoskins to militarize dinosaurs.
What
we know for sure: Dr. Henry Wu escaped the island with all his research and
some embryos. His storyline could easily continue. No confirmation yet on his
return.
There has been a lot of speculation about
whether or not Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum will take part in Jurassic World. Surely the iconic
Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and chaotician Ian Malcolm deserved a
presence in Trevorrow’s reboot? As of now, Neill and Dern appear most likely to
return to the franchise, according to a tweet by a JW fan Twitter account that reads ‘If
@starwars can include original cast in their new trilogy, so can @JurassicPark!
RT if you agree!’. The tweet was accompanied by a picture of Neill and
Dern, so there is definitely a demand for it.
Jeff Goldblum, on his part, has teased us
about the possibility of an appearance in the sequel, but there is no
confirmation as of yet.
Note that Steven Spielberg held the trio
out of JW by choice, wanting to focus on the future instead of the past as to
introduce the franchise to a whole new generation.
What
we know for sure: There have been a lot of rumours about a possible return for
Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, with Neill and Dern slightly ahead of
Goldblum.
According to ‘reports’,
the following actors and actresses have been enlisted to appear in the sequel: Omar Sy as Owen’s sidekick Barry, Julianne Moore as Sarah Harding, Jake Johnson as Lowery Cruthers, Lauren Lapkus as Vivian Krill, Cameron Thor as Lewis Dodgson, Aasif Mandvi as Jack Masrani, Jack Kennedy as Morton Vics, Steve McQueen as Jack Levine and Livia Milano as Mya Jones. Samuel L.
Jackson’s rumored return as chain-smoking chief engineer Ray Arnold has been
confirmed to be a hoax.
What
we know for sure: As much as we would like to confirm these names, we can’t. It
is unclear at this point where this list even originated.
Now what?
With the script still being hammered
out, filming not slated to begin until 2017, and the final edit still over two
years away, all we have right now is educated guesses.
Let’s hear what the experts think will
happen:
Sam: "In terms of what will think will happen and what I would like to see? That is a tough one. As long as it is a perfect mix of both Jurassic Park and The Lost World, like Jurassic World was, I will be happy. I have full trust in Colin and Derek."
Jack: "The Jurassic films so far have had 2 concerning theme parks and 2 about people trapped in lost worlds. For the 5th adventure how can we possibly have any idea of what to expect?
As long as it feels JP, in terms of storytelling devices (aka sans dream sequences and shaky cam), I'm happy. A film in the style of Crichton's Twister would be sweet. Following the destructive path/effect of these reborn animals on our modern natural world."
Ross: "I'd like to see dinosaurs in the wild but on the mainland, perhaps becoming an invasive species like cane toads in Australia. It would be interesting to see how they would be tolerated if they started altering the natural world."
Matteo: "I’m going out on a limb and
say the Indominus Rex is still alive. BioSyn manages to capture it and use it to
finally perfect their cloning technique, using it do to all kind of no good
behind closed doors. Dr. Henry Wu, meanwhile, sells his services to the highest
bidder, experimenting with new hybrids and ice age animals for the private zoo
of a Hammond 2.0 type. Claire, who has been dealing with the aftermath of the
Jurassic World disaster, is feverishly looking for the remains of the I-Rex.
She is contacted one day by Alan Grant, who has found out the whereabouts of
the Indominus via his old friend Billy. When Owen is recruited by Wu’s boss to
come check out his collection, the zoo is attacked by former IBRIS Project
guys, setting free dinosaurs, hybrids, mammoths and saber-toothed tigers."
And what do you think the plot will be?
*The title will almost certainly not be
‘Jurassic World 2’. Rumored titles include ‘Jurassic Earth’, ‘Jurassic War’ and
‘Jurassic Squad’.
**Recently bumped to fourth place by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
