Credit: Universal StudiosIt’s very unlikely Jurassic Park (also known as Jurassic World) will ever lose popularity. The franchise may have gone into extinction for 14 years after Jurassic Park III (2001) failed to impress, but as the films have taught us repeatedly, extinction is only temporary.
In 2015, the franchise was “cloned” for a new generation. Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World (2015) put the franchise back on the map, grossing $1.6 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing in the series and the then-third highest-grossing film of all time.
Related: 7 ‘Jurassic Park’ Installments Arriving Later This Month
The film ushered in a new era of sequels, video games, short movies, animated shows, and Universal Studios theme park experiences. The most notable installments are the two films that followed, completing the Jurassic World trilogy, which was planned from the get-go.
JA Bayona helmed the second entry, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). Though it was panned by fans and critics, it still devoured more than $1.3 billion at the global box office. Colin Trevorrow returned to helm the final installment, Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Reboot Cast Revealed, Original Actors Replaced
Dominion didn’t do much better critically, but it still crossed $1 billion worldwide. As Jurassic Park III was also a critical disaster, yet still grossed $368.8 million worldwide against its $93 million budget, it leaves us feeling slightly concerned about the franchise’s future on the big screen.
As the last two films failed to impress anywhere near as much as the original Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic World did, it begs the question of whether the film series is set to go back into dormancy again. After all, things have gone quiet at Universal Pictures.
Related: Next “Jurassic” Installment Gets R-Rated Trailer
While promoting Dominion last year, Colin Trevorrow and producer Frank Marshall alluded to future films, but nothing has been mentioned since. There are many ways forward (or backward) for the series, so the apparent lack of activity is puzzling, to say the least.
That’s not to say the franchise has halted in other forms of media; quite the contrary. The Jurassic World Evolution video games have been a huge success, while toy giants Hasbro, Mattel, and LEGO continue churning out new merchandise lines.
Related: Next “Jurassic” Installment Gets New Trailer, Revisits Iconic ‘Jurassic Park’ Scene
Then there’s the Netflix side of the franchise. In 2020, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022) was released onto the platform. Though primarily aimed at younger audiences, the animated series got five seasons, with the final premiering last year.
But despite the series ending last year, it seems Netflix wants to unleash more “chaos” upon viewers. During Netflix’s Geeked Week ’23, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024) was revealed.
Check out the trailer below:
Related: 7 Things We Need From an Open World ‘Jurassic Park’ Game
Per Universal Pictures, here’s the official synopsis for the animated series:
After the park has closed, after the kingdom has fallen, a new era of chaos begins…. Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is coming to Netflix in 2024.
Fans hoping to sink their teeth into something live action will be disappointed, but Chaos Theory at least looks like it has a more mature tone than its predecessor, Camp Cretaceous, and its post-Fallen Kingdom/pre-Dominion setting is intriguing.
Related: A Recap of the ‘Jurassic Park’ Film Series Before You Watch ‘Dominion’
One of the biggest complaints about Dominion is its lack of focus on dinosaurs on the mainland, despite it being a huge part of the film’s marketing. Instead of explaining how dinosaur populations have thrived all over the planet, Dominion goes back to basics and pits the main characters in a jungle setting, with a research facility thrown in for good measure.
Chaos Theory could remedy this flaw by casting a lens over what would undoubtedly be an enormous transformation to our way of life on Earth. Dinosaurs suddenly reclaiming the wilderness in the modern world has endless opportunities for storytelling and isn’t something that should be swept under the rug and ignored using a four-year time-jump.
Here are five problems in Jurassic World Dominion that Chaos Theory could fix.
How Chaos Theory Can Fix Jurassic World Dominion
1. Focus on Dinosaurs on the Mainland Like in the Jurassic World Short Films
Jurassic World Dominion missed a huge opportunity by not focusing on dinosaurs on the mainland, despite this being part of the film’s marketing. Even the short Colin Trevorrow-directed film Battle at Big Rock (2019) and the live-action miniseries focus on this, both of which also take place between Fallen Kingdom and Dominion.
The upcoming Jurassic World: Chaos Theory could fix this problem. The trailer, which shows the T-Rex affectionately known as “Rexy” by fans roaming around the Sierra Nevada Forest, as seen at the start of Dominion, suggests this will indeed be the case.
Even the official synopsis states that “a new era of chaos begins,” which no doubt refers to dinosaurs on the mainland, which the end of Camp Cretaceous Season 5 also teases.
Related: ‘Jurassic’ Series Set Before ‘Dominion’ Could Change the Franchise in a Major Way
2. Continue Maisie Lockwood’s Story
Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) was first introduced in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as the franchise’s first human clone, and she’s one of the most interesting characters in the series. She returned in Jurassic World Dominion, which explains more about her backstory.
But Isabella Sermon doesn’t just play Maisie in the latest film — she also plays the younger version of her own mother (and doner), Charlotte Lockwood (Elva Trill plays the adult version). It would be great to see Maisie and/or Charlotte appear in Chaos Theory.
Whether or not Isabella Sermon would reprise either role (or both) remains to be seen, but we think she deserves her own Jurassic World prequel trilogy, which Dominion certainly leans into, as Charlotte Lockwood is revealed to have been an InGen scientist on Site B decades ago.
Bringing Maisie and/or Charlotte back into the fold is one of many ways the franchise can move forward, whether it’s in Chaos Theory or elsewhere (preferably in live action).
Related: Does ‘Dominion’ Tease a ‘Jurassic Park’ Prequel Trilogy?
3. Reintroduce Fallen Kingdom‘s Human Cloning Storyline
Having Maisie Lockwood back in the fold could allow for the franchise to properly revisit the human cloning storyline explored in Fallen Kingdom. While this didn’t go down well with many fans, it makes perfect sense that scientists can clone humans if they can clone animals that have been extinct for millions of years.
However, Maisie’s backstory as a clone is retconned somewhat in Dominion. Instead of her being a direct clone of Charlotte Lockwood, it’s revealed that she’s Charlotte’s un-fathered daughter, self-impregnated using InGen cloning technology. On the flip side, this ties in well with the film’s themes of motherhood.
It should also be noted that Maisie lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California in Dominion (where she has lived for four years since Fallen Kingdom), where she’s been hiding out with Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt).
In the Chaos Theory trailer, we see Rexy in the Sierra Nevada Forest, so is it possible Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams) will encounter Maisie during his time there?
Related: Did Fans Miss This Huge Plot Twist in ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’?
4. Make the Jurassic World Dinosaurs Scary Again
The Jurassic Park dinosaurs have become less scary over the years. While each Jurassic World film certainly has its fair share of creepy prehistoric predators, whether it’s Jurassic World‘s Indominus Rex, Fallen Kingdom‘s Indoraptor, or Dominion‘s Therizinosaurus, there’s just something missing.
Perhaps it has a lot to do with the fact that Rexy and Blue the Velociraptor are anthropomorphized dinosaurs. You could make the case that Blue, along with Delta, Charlie, and Echo, was raised by Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), but what’s Rexy’s excuse?
We love Rexy, and seeing her epic return in Jurassic World was thrilling, to say the least, but Fallen Kingdom and Dominion took the fact that she’s a legacy character way too far by turning her into a right-time-right-place sort of hero, also known as a deus ex machina.
Chaos Theory has the perfect opportunity to right this wrong, particularly in the case of Rexy, who appears in the trailer. Surely, during her four years trying to survive in the Sierra Nevada Forest, she had no choice but to feast on the odd human from time to time?
Related: All the Main Dinosaur Villains From the ‘Jurassic Park’ Movies Ranked Worst to Best
5. Introduce Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Characters
So far, only Darius Bowman from Camp Cretaceous has been confirmed to return in Chaos Theory, with Paul-Mikél Williams reprising his role. There’s no telling yet if we can also expect to see the likes of Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone) and Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega).
However, as it’s a prequel to Dominion (and a sequel to Fallen Kingdom), Chaos Theory could feature characters from those films, such as Owen Grady, Claire Dearing, Maisie Lockwood, Zia Rodriguez, and Franklin Webb, regardless of whether the actors return.
The same goes for the original Jurassic Park characters, such as Ian Malcolm, Alan Grant, and Ellie Sattler. Maybe even Lex Murphy and Tim Murphy, who haven’t been seen since the first sequel in the film series, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
It was great to see Jurassic Park and Jurassic World characters unite for the first time in Dominion. Now it’s time to see some of them show up on the animated side of the franchise. With the exception of Henry Wu and Lewis Dodgson, this has yet to happen.
Related: All the Main Heroes From the ‘Jurassic Park’ Movies Ranked
Per Wikipedia, here’s the synopsis for Camp Cretaceous:
After winning a video game, dinosaur fanatic Darius Bowman is given the opportunity to visit Camp Cretaceous, an exclusive adventure dinosaur camp on Isla Nublar. Once there, Darius meets five other teenagers—Ben, Yaz, Brooklynn, Kenji, and Sammy—who were also chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, when the dinosaurs break free from their habitats, the campers are stranded and forced to venture across the island without any help in the hopes of finding a way out alive.
Check out the trailer for Season 5 below:
Related: All 17 ‘Jurassic Park’ Kids Ranked From Worst to Best
Camp Cretaceous seasons 1 — 5 and the interactive adventure experience Hidden Adventure are now streaming on Netflix.
Camp Cretaceous stars Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula), Ryan Potter (Kenji Kon), Raini Rodriguez (Sammy Gutierrez), and Jenna Ortega (Brooklynn).
LEGO Jurassic Park: The Unofficial Retelling (2023) is now streaming on Peacock.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory releases on Netflix sometime in 2024.
Are you excited for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!