Audiences have been reintroduced to dinosaurs. Fans of the Jurassic Park franchise were looking toward a new chapter. Jurassic World: Rebirth was that next chapter. A new cast of characters, a new location and most importantly new and refreshed dinosaurs played a part in why the movie was anticipated. With the movie now in theaters and doing well, a question does come up; where does the franchise go from here? The Jurassic Park franchise has a lot of potential to grow and that potential has been capitalized on. Games and series have been part of the expanding brand. But seeing dinosaurs on the big screen is where the franchise truly finds its stride. The franchise, on the movie side of things, has had huge and lasting success so it does make sense for the brand to continue in cinema. But just because the franchise has seen high success in film does not meet its invulnerable for failure. Some of the films, including Jurassic World: Rebirth, has seen some lows. It puts in question the longevity of the franchise. And for a franchise that has seen real highs and real lows, is it time for the Jurassic Park brand to evolve or go extinct?
*Spoilers for Jurassic World: Rebirth
The movie has done super well at the box office, racking in a lot of money. Within that frame, that does stir the conversation of possibly adding a new film to the franchise. Movie studios tend to consider that heavily when they discuss any sort of sequel. Large sums of money at the box office tends to speak clearly and loudly. If Jurassic World: Rebirth manages to make a fraction of the money it has already made during Superman’s opening weekend, then the movie would be considered a real success. If that does track, Universal will at least consider a sequel.
However, although the movie might be commercial success now, it has not been a critical success. The film ranks as the one of the lowest rated films in the franchise. The plot was a big point of contention. It quite frankly played everything safe. No new ground was formed. One addition in did add to the lore was another island where InGen created the dinosaurs before putting them in a park. This island housed a lab where all dinosaurs, ‘true breed’ and hybrids, were made. This would have been a refreshing corner of the universe but other than a mention or two, the idea to explore an unknown history of InGen was left unexplored. And some new additions to the franchise were underwhelming. One of the biggest selling points of the movie was the inclusion of the Distortus Rex. Its origin and design were left in mystery with nearly every trailer. But when audiences saw the film, the Distortus Rex left more to be desired. The consensus of the film is that it’s far from being the best but not the worst. Perhaps not the strongest grounds to have a follow up.
There was no post credit scene to suggest something coming up. However, the ending did leave it up for interpretation. Once the characters do retrieve blood samples, they are left with the choice to give them to good hands. The ending did leave the franchise in a spot where it could at least stay active for a while. At the same time, it does make audiences wonder, where in fact would blood samples from dinosaurs go? Are these new homes going to be legit or create another round of dinosaurs? The ending left in a good spot considering that the franchise has no current future plans.
Something that fans want the franchise to explore is a darker tone, just like its literary origins. The Jurassic Park novel has plenty of differences to its cinematic counterpart. And many of them are graphic. The movies do venture into this once in a while. Some deaths have been a bit graphic, perhaps paying homage to the graphic nature of the book. Fans want that to be reflected in film. And since the dinosaurs are considered monsters, a perfect genre that could be explored is horror. Again, the movies do play with this idea, especially Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. This idea has also been demanded in games. So, this franchise has been asked to explore the graphic and horror sides of Jurassic Park. Since Jurassic World: Rebirth left with a lukewarm response, maybe its time for the franchise to take notice of what fans want. This could help them gain back some success. Gain back some interest. This will put the franchise back on track and put them in a territory that is new but also desired by fans. It breaks new ground for Jurassic Park to some extent. It gives a reason for it to continue.
But unless a perfect story blends the dinosaurs with an overlooked component of the franchise, the next potential film will face the same shortcomings. That overlooked component is a philosophical one. The strongest Jurassic Park movies have this question of ‘how far should man go to become God?’. Jurassic Park and Jurassic World both had this question underlying the film. Other movies do not. They tend to rely on spectacle. Blending both those aspects does not guarantee success but the strongest films do have that in their formula. So, it should be an idea that should be considered to include. The Distortus Rex and mutadons opened the door for some philosophical ideas to be explored. It could have been a point of conversation that despite disastrous results, InGen kept trying. But nothing like that was even mentioned. So, unless the next film combines those ideas, spectacle may be used mostly and that has proven to not be enough.
Jurassic Park is a beloved franchise. When it comes to dinosaur movies, nothing comes close. The first film still reigns supreme not only as the best in the series but one of the best films of all time. Its legacy though is in jeopardy. With films coming short, the trust in these movies is fading. Some spikes of interest have kept it in conversation but unless a revolutionary chapter comes in to keep evolving the series, the franchise may become dormant.
