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Here’s something to make you feel old: It’s been 21 years since the movie Jurassic Park was released. It’s been 21 years since we learned that Velociraptors were truly the most terrifying of all dinosaurs, that Jeff Goldblum can only really play Jeff Goldblum, and that child endangerment is the most exciting plot hook of all. The special effects still hold up well today, even though paleontological research now suggests those terrifying raptors should have had some less terrifying feathery plumage.
There were two sequels made, both of which failed to live up to their predecessor in either quality or financial success. It’s been 13 years since the last sequel, Jurassic Park III, was released to lukewarm box office earnings and poor reviews.
Hollywood is all about taking advantage of nostalgia. Now that the nostalgia calendar is moving up into the 90s, home of Power Rangers, Pokémon and assorted oddball Nickelodeon cartoons, Universal has decided it’s time to take another shot at Jurassic Park. Unlike studios that have recently tried to cash in on nostalgia by remaking movies that don’t need to be remade – Total Recall and Robocop come to mind – Universal has partnered with Legendary Pictures to make a new sequel, titled Jurassic World.
Legendary Pictures is a perfect fit for a new Jurassic Park movie. They earned their giant monster stripes with last year’s Pacific Rim, and this year they’re releasing a new Western-made Godzilla movie that looks set to put Roland Emmerich’s 1998 version to shame. With the two studios working on Jurassic World together, it’s hoped that it’ll get the funding it needs to be a genuinely good contribution to the series.
While the dinosaurs are certainly coming back for the new movie, none of the actors from any of the previous movies will be involved (except perhaps for unannounced cameos). Jeff Goldblum has announced his involvement in another 90s nostalgia-driven sequel, a follow-up to the granddaddy of today’s over-the-top, overly-long summer blow-em-up movies Independence Day, but he says no one has spoken to him about Jurassic World. The same goes for Sam Neill and Laura Dern, though presumably they won’t instead be spending the time hacking alien computers with Macbooks like Goldblum.
There’s also no sign of original director Steven Spielberg apart from an Executive Producer credit. Instead, Jurassic World will be directed by relative newcomer Colin Trevorrow, who directed the indie time-travel rom-com Safety Not Guaranteed but doesn’t have much else to his name.
The Inevitable Hunky White Guy role has been cast as Chris Pratt, who we’ll be seeing this summer as interstellar ruffian Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Current rumor is that he’ll be playing opposite legendary director Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas-Howard, though nothing’s been confirmed from her yet. And following the old Jurassic Park tradition of child endangerment, Ty Simpkins, the adorable moppet who gave Tony Stark a hard time in Iron Man 3, has been confirmed for a role.
But will Jurassic World be a new Jurassic Park or just another Jurassic Park III? With a screenplay by the writers of the astonishingly good Rise of the Planet of the Apes, hopes are high that this might be a sequel worth seeing for more than just a new batch of dinosaurs.
Bad news for the paleontology geeks, though: They still won’t be feathered.