Brand-New 'Jurassic World' Trailer Takes the Franchise Underwater

It’s been over a year since Jurassic World Dominion (2022) was released in theaters. While the sixth installment in the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise didn’t open to the best reviews from audiences and critics, it still devoured over $1 billion worldwide.

And though a sequel is inevitable, all is quiet on the Jurassic front. Whether or not we get a straight-forward sequel or a live-action television series remains to be seen. Either way, fans are wondering what direction the franchise will take going forward, especially now that there are dinosaurs all over the planet.

Character Poster for Jurassic World Dominion — Credit: Universal Studios

Earlier this year, when asked what he’d like to see from future movies in the franchise, Chris Pratt, who plays velociraptor expert Owen Grady in the three Jurassic World films, said he’d be open to seeing things go underwater.

In an interview with Collider during a press tour for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), Pratt said, “I would say just given the advent of what we can now do underwater, I’m curious to see more about the Mosasaur. I thought that dinosaur was a wonderful creature, but I’d be curious a little bit more about the life of that fabulous creature. Maybe some more underwater dinosaurs.”

The Mosasaur in Jurassic World — Credit: Universal Studios

The Jurassic World movies are no strangers to the deep. Jurassic World (2015) was the first to introduce the Mosasaur to the franchise, the gigantic Late Cretaceous marine reptile in question. During the film, the aquatic beast feasts on a Great White Shark, a Pteranodon, and Claire Dearing’s unfortunate assistant, Zara Young (Katie McGrath). At the end of the film, the Mosasaur even takes down the Indominus Rex, the park’s deadly dino-hybrid.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) opens with a submersible entering Jurassic World’s long-abandoned lagoon, where mercenaries have been tasked with recovering DNA samples from the dead Indominus Rex. The Mosasaur destroys the sub, and the lagoon gates are left wide open for the creature to escape into the ocean. At the end of the film, we see the shadow of the Mosasaur inside a wave as it approaches an unsuspecting surfer.

The Mosasaur in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — Credit: Universal Studios

The third film in the Jurassic World trilogy, Jurassic World Dominion (2022), doesn’t feature all that much from the Mosasaur. One of the film’s (many) opening sequences sees the creature attacking a fishing trawler out at sea, but we don’t see it again until another closing montage, in which it appears to be living harmoniously with large whales.

So far, the Mosasaur is the only prehistoric marine reptile to have appeared in the Jurassic films. On the smaller screen, however, a whole new “Jurassic world” is about to open up beneath the surface of the water.

Jurassic World Evolution (2018) is a park management simulation game that allows players to create tropical islands, the theme parks they host, the genetically engineered dinosaurs that populate them, and much more. Though hardly the first of its kind within the franchise, the game became incredibly popular, so much so that a sequel titled Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2021) was released in 2021.

The second game has enjoyed plenty of DLCs (downloadable content) since first arriving, including the Early Cretaceous Pack and, to coincide with the release of Jurassic World Dominion last year, the Dominion Biosyn Expansion. Now, yet another DLC is inbound, and it’s called Jurassic World Evolution 2: Prehistoric Marine Species Pack.

Before we go any deeper, check out the brand-new trailer below:

The developers have finally listened to the fans, who have been crying out for an underwater expansion since the release of the first game. As you can see from the trailer, the DLC brings four new marine species to Jurassic World Evolution 2 — the Archelon, the Nothosaurus, the Dunkleosteus, and the Shonisaurus. It also features a Lagoon Rock Platform, which provides “new ways to observe the Archelon and Nothosaurus, as they rest above the water.” The DLC also includes free updates, new skins, and more.

This new expansion will open up the game in exciting ways and, as the official website states, usher in “a bold new era.” Now all we need is for the Jurassic films to take note. Universal Pictures may have gone quiet on the Jurassic front, but we know there will be future installments. Before the release of Dominion last year, producer Frank Marshall and director Colin Trevorrow said there would be more films. But perhaps it’s time for a change — at least in terms of setting. If not the deep, what other fresh and unique locations and settings could the Jurassic World franchise explore?

Underwater

As we’ve already suggested, and just as Chris Pratt suggested earlier this year, a Jurassic World installment focusing on prehistoric marine life would be an exciting step forward for the franchise. While we only see a Mosasaur escape Isla Nublar at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, seeing as Jurassic World Dominion “jumps the shark” when it comes to how many dinosaurs are running rampant all over the world versus how many actually escape in the previous film, we’re sure the filmmakers can come up with a reason to have the oceans suddenly teeming with prehistoric marine reptiles.

The only trouble is that Dominion seems to conclude the dinosaurs-in-the-wild predicament in that they’re all suddenly living in harmony with modern day-animals. Perhaps then, an underwater-centric Jurassic film should take place before the Jurassic World installments, with an aquatic facility either on one of the two InGen islands or out at sea.

Globe-Trotting

Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) in Malta on his motorbike in Jurassic World Dominion — Credit: Universal Studios

While there is currently no word on a follow-up to Dominion, it’s plain to see that the 2022 sequel sets the stage for future installments, whether it’s the fact that dinosaurs are now living among humans or, more specifically, the illegal dinosaur trade market as shown during the Malta sequence. Characters such as ex-air force pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise), French CIA operative Barry Sembène (Omar Sy), and black market dealer Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman) could easily make a return, perhaps for a live-action Jurassic World television series.

This would allow for even more globe-trotting, which was never fully embraced in Dominion, with the action spanning only small parts of the North American wilderness, Malta, and the Biosyn facility in Italy’s Dolomites. A series focused on the black market could see the action go truly global, thus creating some real distance between those exhausted jungle environments, which even Dominion couldn’t avoid in the end.

The United Kingdom

Maisie Lockwood in the museum in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom — Credit: Universal Studios

Dominion even sets up a potential prequel. This comes in the form of Maisie Lockwood’s mother, Charlotte Lockwood (Isabella Sermon/Elva Trill), who is finally revealed, in video diary footage from Site B/Isla Sorna, to have been a geneticist. As Maisie Lockwood actress Isabella Sermon also plays the younger version of Charlotte (Maisie is technically a clone of Charlotte), then the time for Universal Pictures to launch a prequel that focuses on Charlotte is now, whether it’s a film or a television series.

However, we don’t need to return to Site B anytime soon. We’ve already had two films set on the “factory floor” island: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001). Though Charlotte’s father/Maisie’s grandfather, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), is American, the Lockwood clones are British, so, evidently, they each must have spent a significant part of their lives in the United Kingdom. Dinosaurs in the UK? It would certainly make for a significant change of scenery.

Maisie Lockwood in Jurassic World Dominion — Credit: Universal Studios

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the original Jurassic Park (1993). As per the official Jurassic World website, here’s the synopsis for Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic:

Experience one of the biggest films in motion picture history with director Steven Spielberg’s ultimate thrill ride, Jurassic Park. Featuring Academy Award® winning visual effects and ground-breaking filmmaking that has been hailed as “a triumph of special effects artistry” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times), this epic film is sheer movie-making magic that was 65 million years in the making. Jurassic Park takes you to an amazing theme park on a remote island where dinosaurs once again roam the earth and five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough, discover the breath-taking adventure you will want to experience again and again.

Lex Murphy (Arianna RIchards) staring out the jeep window in Jurassic Park — Credit: Universal Studios

Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), Arianna Richards (Lex Murphy), Joe Mazzello (Tim Murphy), Richard Attenborough (John Hammond), Wayne Knight (Dennis Nedry), Bob Peck (Robert Muldoon), Samuel L Jackson (Ray Arnold), Martin Ferrero (Donald Gennaro), and BD Wong (Henry Wu).

Jurassic World Evolution 2: Prehistoric Marine Species Pack will be available on August 10, 2023. The game is available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC through Steam, the Epic Games Store, Windows Store, and GeForce Now.

Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection will be available in late 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Would you like to see the next Jurassic World film go underwater? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

Brand-New 'Jurassic World' Trailer Takes the Franchise Underwater - Inside the Magic