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Credit: Universal StudiosDespite being touted as the final entry in the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise, as Jurassic World Dominion (2022) closes in on $1 billion at the global box office (it has so far grossed over $990 million worldwide), it becomes increasingly likely that future projects will become a reality.
Besides, did we really think that the sixth installment in this highly lucrative series would be the last? Collectively, the films have now passed $6 billion internationally, and even producer Frank Marshall previously revealed that Jurassic Park/Jurassic World definitely has a future.
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It would also be naive of us to think otherwise, despite what the marketing for Jurassic World Dominion would have us believe. After all, if films like Joker (2019) can end up getting a sequel (Joker: Folie à Deux is set for release on October 4, 2024), then another Jurassic sequel is inevitable.
Now that we’ve seen Jurassic World Dominion, it’s obvious that it was intended to wrap up both the Jurassic Park films and the Jurassic World films, serving as yet another legacy sequel. Though it didn’t see the return of any OG Jurassic Park characters, 2015’s Jurassic World was exactly that.
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So, with the “Jurassic era” having finally come to an end, where next for the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World series? Well, there are actually a number of directions it could take, from open-world video games to canonical comic books, and live-action TV shows to prequels.
One area the franchise definitely needs to tap into, above all other possibilities, is the streaming service market. Yes, the time is ripe for a live-action Jurassic TV series — especially now that the animated Netflix series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020) has also reached a conclusion.
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Recently, Bryce Dallas Howard and DeWanda Wise, who play Claire Dearing and Kayla Watts in Jurassic World Dominion, said that they would like to reprise their characters in a “legacy” capacity, hinting of course that the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise is far from over.
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It’s obvious that there’s something going on behind the scenes at Universal Pictures. Whether or not Trevorrow and the cast of Jurassic World Dominion are in any way involved remains to be seen, but the project might not even be a theatrical one.
Television is a huge market right now — there’s a Game of Thrones (2011) prequel currently streaming on HBO Max, and soon, The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power (2022) will debut on Amazon Prime Video. Recently, the epic Stranger Things 4 also premiered on Netflix.
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If the short canonical film Battle at Big Rock (2019), which was also directed by Colin Trevorrow, taught us anything, it’s that a live-action Jurassic TV series can definitely work. Perhaps the eight-minute-film was made to test such waters — only time will tell.
Either way, the most logical step for such a venture would probably be a follow-up of sorts to Jurassic World Dominion, which, despite its shortcomings in not fully exploring the concept of dinosaurs living among us, did position some very interesting scenarios.
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One of those scenarios is the illegal dinosaur trade, which appears during the Malta sequence in the latest film. When Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) arrive in Malta to look for Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), they stumble upon the black market.
What follows is pure prehistoric mayhem, as poachers open fire on local law enforcements, and release a carnotaurus, an allosaurus, and four atrociraptors onto the streets of Malta. While the chase that ensues is a stand-out sequence, it’s actually never resolved in the film.
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This is something that could easily be revisited on the smaller screen, as can the Star Wars Cantina-esque black market, where dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes are being sold, pitted against one another like in illegal dogfights, and some even being roasted on spits.
As for characters, look no further than DeWanda Wise’s Kayla Watts, who goes from being a pilot to works for bioengineering corporation BioSyn to all-round hero, and Omar Sy’s Barry Sembene, previously a Jurassic World animal behaviorist, now a French Intelligence operative.
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And then there’s Mamoudou Athie’s Ramsay Cole, who is revealed to be a whistle-blower working at Biosyn. Watts, Sembene, and Cole are some of the more interesting characters in Jurassic World Dominion, and we need to see more from them in a live-action Jurassic TV series.
Whether or not this will actually happen remains to be seen, but we’re sure life will find a way.
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As per the Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment website, here’s the official synopsis for Jurassic World Dominion:
From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live — and hunt –alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.
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Jurassic World Dominion is directed by Colin Trevorrow and stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), Chris Pratt (Owen Grady), Mamoudou Athie (Ramsay Cole), Isabella Sermon (Maisie Lockwood), Omar Sy (Barry Sembène), BD Wong (Henry Wu), Campbell Scott (Lewis Dodgson), DeWanda Wise (Kayla), Jeff Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm), Sam Neill (Dr. Alan Grant), and Laura Dern (Dr. Ellie Sattler).
Jurassic World Dominion follows the four previous Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies — Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World (2015), and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
The film is now available to watch on demand, and will soon be out on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K HD.
Would you like to see a live-action Jurassic World Dominion TV series? Let us know in the comments down below!