Confirmed: New ‘Jurassic Park’ Is a Remake of Failed 2001 Sequel

in Movies & TV

Alan Grant (Sam Neill) staring at the Spinosaurus in 'Jurassic Park III' (2001)

Credit: Universal Pictures

There’s a lot happening with the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise lately: sequels, prequels, video games, animated shows, and… remakes?

Jurassic World 4 Updates

Jurassic World 4 (2025) is now halfway through filming and fans can’t wait to sink their teeth into the new movie when it hits theaters next July. The film stars the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Scarlett Johansson, who’ll be leading a fresh cast into “a new Jurassic era”.

Alongside Johansson, the new dino fodder includes Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), and Mahershala Ali (The Green Book).

No legacy actors are expected to return (so we hope you said your goodbyes to Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Sam Neill, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Laura Dern in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion); but Jurassic World 4 does reunite several creatives from previous films.

(L to R) The Mosasaurus in 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Scarlett Johansson from 'Lucy', and the Megalodon from "Jurassic World Evolution 2"
Credit: Inside the Magic

Jurassic Park (1993) scribe David Koepp might have been killed by a T-Rex during his cameo in 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park (which he also wrote the screenplay for), but he’s been regurgitated for Jurassic World 4 with several other Jurassic Park veterans.

There’s Jurassic World trilogy producers Patrick Crowley and Frank Marshall, executive producer Steven Spielberg (who directed the first two films and was EP on the last four), and, though not quite Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), real-life paleontologists Steve Brusatte and Jack Horner.

Rumored to be titled Jurassic World: Rebirth (going off a recent trademark filing made by Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment), the seventh film in the long-running franchise is being helmed by Gareth Edwards (2014’s Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).

Scarlett Johansson (as Black Widow from 'Captain America: Winter Solider'), and 'Jurassic World''s T-Rex from the Winter Olympics trailer, and the Jurassic Park sign at Universal Studios
Credit: Inside the Magic

But that’s all we currently know about Jurassic World 4. We don’t know anything about the plot or where the film even fits in with the wider franchise. The bare-bones logline per Variety suggests that it takes place after Dominion, but it hasn’t been confirmed either way.

Still, regardless of what the film is about, they had us at “Jurassic”. In fact, there are three other Jurassic Park/Jurassic World installments also in development. But “hold onto your butts”, because one of those upcoming entries is actually a remake of a failed 2001 sequel.

Related: ‘Jurassic World 4’ Everything We Know: Plot, Cast, Release Date, Trailer, and News

Jurassic Park III Rendered the Franchise Extinct

23 years ago, Jurassic Park III (2001) hit theaters. The film follows Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) when he’s kidnapped by divorced couple Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H Macy and Téa Leoni) who need him to help them find their son Eric (Trevor Morgan) who went missing while parasailing with his stepfather near Isla Sorna, AKA Site B, six weeks ago.

Bursting at the seams with all sorts of exciting new dinosaurs (namely Spinosaurus) and with non-stop action sequences from start to finish, the film provided plenty of summer blockbuster fun for audiences. But, sadly, it failed to impress fans of the first two films.

Directed by Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Captain America), Jurassic Park III had a troubled production (now well-documented), which includes rewrites, absent executive producers, directors thinking about quitting, and, ultimately, filming without a completed script.

Somehow, though, the 2001 sequel is surprisingly coherent, but the real problem in the finished product is the overall quality compared to the first two films.

The Spinosaurus catches up with the characters in 'Jurassic Park III'
Credit: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

While the film grossed $368.8M against its $93 budget, it wasn’t enough to stop the series from going into extinction for 14 years. Eventually, Universal Pictures and director Colin Trevorrow brought it back to life in the form of Jurassic World (2015), armed with a total rebranding of the IP.

But Jurassic Park III wasn’t the only sequel destined for release in 2001. But “Jurassic Park: Survival” never saw the light of day. Inspired by the 2001 film, the action-adventure video game faced an even more troubled production than its big-screen counterpart.

Developed by Savage Entertainment and set to be published by Konami, the game was due to be released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in November 2001. It would have followed David Vaughn, the member of a security team, as the lead, who must survive dinosaurs on Site B.

L to R: Amanda Kirby (Tea Leoni), Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan), Paul Kirby (William H Macy), Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola), and Alan Grant (Sam Neill) facing the Spinosaurus in 'Jurassic Park III'
Credit: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Though originally based on Jurassic Park III, with the 2001 film being in production at the time the game was being developed, this made any tie-in elements difficult. So it was decided that it would only be inspired by the film and instead act as a sequel in its own right.

“Jurassic Park: Survival” was heavily marketed, with screenshots and even a trailer preceding its eventual cancelation. But the project went extinct for a number of reasons, from Universal being dissatisfied with its progress, citing poor animations as one of their concerns, to Savage revealing conflicts with Vivendi-Universal due to lack of fundings to the developers.

Over the following year, there was a lot of back and forth over whether or not the game would push forward with a new developer, but, as we know, that never happened, and the Jurassic title was lost to the sands of time like a dinosaur fossil that refuses to be discovered.

However, as the tagline for the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park reads, “something has survived”.

Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Official Sequel: Everything We Know

The Upcoming Jurassic Park Installment

“Jurassic Park: Survival” has been given new life. Perhaps not in its original form (just like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park or Jurassic World, which are genetically altered iterations of their ancestors), but a far more refined version is now heading for all major games consoles.

“Jurassic Park: Survival” (TBA) is an upcoming first-person action-adventure video game from publisher and developer, Saber Interactive.

Gallimimus stampeding over a jungle explorer in the 'Jurassic Park: Survival' game trailer
Credit: Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment / Saber Interactive

While this is a completely different beast to the game of the same name from 2001 — for a star, it’s not third-person, it doesn’t dovetail off the events of Jurassic Park III, and it takes place on Isla Nublar, not Sorna — it’s still, technically, a remake.

After all, there must be a reason why the developers have chosen to keep the title “Jurassic Park: Survival”. Like the 2001 game, the new one follows a single character who must face InGen dinosaurs alone on an island using nothing but their wit and resources to survive.

The biggest difference, however, besides gameplay mechanics (and the fact that it naturally looks a million times better), is that it takes place “the day after the events of the beloved 1993 Jurassic Park film,” following “InGen scientist Dr. Maya Joshi, who was unable to evacuate Isla Nublar,” per the official website.

Watch the trailer for “Jurassic Park: Survival” below, per Jurassic World YouTube:

Related: ‘Jurassic Park: Survival’ Trailer Breakdown

“Jurassic Park: Survival” will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There’s no release date for the game, but it’s expected to arrive sometime in 2025.

Jurassic World 4 will be released in theaters on July 2, 2025.

Are you excited about “Jurassic Park: Survival”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

View Comment (1)