Colin Trevorrow Confirms ‘Jurassic’ Franchise Will Continue
Jurassic World writer-director Colin Trevorrow has confirmed the rumblings we’d been hearing for a while: there will be more Jurassic films.
Mild spoilers for Jurassic World: Dominion ahead.
A newly released interview from Empire had the new Jurassic overseer discussing how this summer’s Jurassic World: Dominion — which has devoured $1 billion at the worldwide box office despite the rough critical reception — laid the foundation for the future of the franchise with both a bigger world and new faces. Here’s what he said on the matter:
“I specifically did something different than the other films in order to change the DNA of the franchise… The previous five films are plots about dinosaurs. This one is a story about characters in a world in which they coexist with dinosaurs. For the franchise to be able to move forward – because it’s inherently unfranchisable, there probably should have only been one Jurassic Park – but if we’re gonna do it, how can I allow them to tell stories in a world in which dinosaurs exist, as opposed to, here’s another reason why we’re going to an island?”
Indeed, Dominion took some big swings in order to broaden the franchise’s horizons, maybe even losing some of its signature identity and thrills in the process. However, we can’t deny the film ends on a hopeful but intriguing final note that is ripe for more adventures at some point in the future. Moreover, some of Dominion‘s highlights came from newcomers such as DeWanda Wise’s Kayla Watts, and more than a handful of fans seem to be ready for her taking over a bigger role moving forward. Trevorrow expanded on who could return:
“This movie clearly takes a real interest in creating new characters that a new generation is going to latch on to – Kayla Watts [DeWanda Wise], and Mamoudou Athie’s character Ramsay Cole, who I think, in the Extended Edition, you really feel his purpose in a greater way. And Dichen Lachman’s character [Soyona Santos], who just gets arrested at the end… There’s more to come.”
He also explained he wasn’t fully on board with Universal Pictures’ marketing for the trilogy capper, which promised an “epic franchise finale” even though he hadn’t treated the film as such:
“I never knew that this was the ending of the franchise until I saw the marketing… Those guys are brilliant at what they do, but for me I think it might have been clearer if they’d said, ‘The end of an era’, as opposed to all of it. Because regardless of the cynical approach – of course they’re gonna want to make more money, which is what Jurassic World was about – a new dinosaur fan is born every day. Kids deserve these movies, and young filmmakers grow up on these stories – much like Peter Pan and The Wizard Of Oz and worlds we’ve returned to constantly.”
The final bit of the interview basically confirms what Frank Marshall stated before Dominion hit theaters: more theatrical Jurassic installments will be coming… when the perfect pitch arrives.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
