So far, the “Jurassic World” trilogy has mirrored the original “Jurassic Park” trilogy’s plots and themes on a grander scale. The first entries – “Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic World” – chronicle theme parks where dinosaurs overcome the safeguards and run amok, destroying the state-of-the-art parks.
The second installments – “The Lost World” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” – feature islands going back to nature and groups of bad guys looking to steal the dinosaurs for profit; good guys challenge them on behalf of the dinosaurs.
It may give fans pause to follow this mirroring approach to storytelling to its natural conclusion: “Jurassic World 3” (2021) will parallel the much-maligned “Jurassic Park III” (2001). But never fear: Quality does not factor into my theorizing. I’m talking about broad plots and themes.
And since “JPIII” is so poorly regarded (somewhat unfairly, although it is the least substantial entry of the saga), “JW3” has an excellent opportunity to tackle the elements from that film in more robust fashion.
Drawing from this mirroring theory, here are six things I think we’ll see in the sixth “JP” movie, to be directed by Colin Trevorrow and written by Trevorrow, Emily Carmichael and Derek Connolly. (SPOILERS for “Fallen Kingdom” follow.)
1. A family-oriented rescue mission
In “Jurassic Park III”: Alan Grant is tricked by a couple into helping rescue their kid on Isla Sorna. Meanwhile, Grant’s assistant Billy is like a son to him.
In “Jurassic World 3”: I expect something closer to the scale of a disaster movie, like “San Andreas.” Owen (Chris Pratt) is the obvious choice to be the rescuer, and his surrogate daughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon) would be the natural candidate to be in need of rescue. Since she is a human clone, perhaps the only successful one in existence, Henry Wu (BD Wong) or other geneticists might capture her for their scientific needs. I expect Owen, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), Maisie and Blue will bond as a makeshift family over the course of the story.
2. Pteranodons
In “Jurassic Park III”: In the aviary, Billy and Eric are attacked by the flying creatures.
In “Jurassic World 3”: “Fallen Kingdom’s” post-credits teaser shows pteranodons are in Las Vegas. Perhaps Trevorrow and company see Sin City as a good location to explore the villains’ sin of playing god by bringing back dinosaurs. (Or maybe it’s just a fun closing tag. But now that they’ve shown it to us, I want to see pteranodons attacking gamblers along the neon-bathed Vegas strip.)
3. The U.S. military
In “Jurassic Park III”: The Navy cavalry holds off the dinosaurs while the humans get to safety. But we don’t see any fighting on screen.
In “Jurassic World 3”: A full-scale war will likely pit the U.S. military against the most destructive dinosaurs that broke loose at the end of “Fallen Kingdom.” A lot of the military will be drawn back to home soil for this mission, and that could encourage other nations – some of which acquired their own dinosaurs in the “Fallen Kingdom” auction – to be more aggressive.
4. Destruction of the “island” theory
In “Jurassic Park III”: The aviary door is open, so any flying monsters can freely traverse the globe. And some fans theorize a sea beast killed the boaters at the start of the film. An island can’t contain flying or swimming dinosaurs.
In “Jurassic World 3”: The United States could serve as a metaphorical “island,” a place where we assume things can be contained or kept out, only to be proven wrong. This fits well with the Trump era of border wall talk, inhumane anti-immigration policies and aggressive anti-trade tariffs. An ankylosaurus or a pachycephalosaurus – militarized by a foreign government – breaking through a border wall and plowing through ICE agents could be powerful piece of visual social commentary.
5. Death of a T-rex
In “Jurassic Park III”: A T-rex dies at the teeth of a spinosaurus.
In “Jurassic World 3”: Sorry, Rexy fans. The saga’s main T-rex, who is already showing signs of age, will almost certainly bite the dust in heroic fashion in the sixth film – similar to Anakin Skywalker’s arc in the “Star Wars” saga.
6. Raptor communications
In “Jurassic Park III”: We learn that raptors can communicate with each other via calls similar to what birds use. And Grant can communicate with the raptors by using a device that mimics those calls. This is a long way from a raptor literally speaking – as infamously happens in Alan’s dream – but it’s a point on the continuum where intelligent speech is the end game.
In “Jurassic World 3”: Owen and Blue will likely be able to communicate in more detail, perhaps by using the bird-call system. Since “JW3” will likely feature a massive dinosaurs vs. humans war, Blue and Owen (the only example of a dinosaur-human friendship) are the clear candidates to strategize toward peace. Perhaps Blue’s behavior will give Owen the answer for how to encourage the other dinosaurs to break free of their military training.
What do you think we’ll see when dinosaurs rule the big screen again in three years? Share your thoughts in the comment threads.
Click here to visit our “Jurassic Park” Zone.