Colin Trevorrow: ‘There Probably Should’ve Only Been One’ ‘Jurassic Park’ Movie

Samantha Bergeson
·3 min read
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“Jurassic Park” will always find a way to continue.

After the perceived conclusion to the sequel trilogy with “Jurassic World: Dominion,” director Colin Trevorrow revealed that it wasn’t until the marketing campaign that he realized the film was poised to be not only the end of the modern trilogy, but of the franchise as a whole.

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“I never knew that this was the ending of the franchise until I saw the marketing,” Trevorrow told Empire magazine. “Those guys are brilliant at what they do, but for me I think it might have been clearer if they’d said, ‘The end of an era’ as opposed to all of it. Because regardless of the cynical approach — of course they’re going to want to make more money, which is what ‘Jurassic World’ was about — a new dinosaur fan is born every day.”

Trevorrow continued, “Kids deserve these movies, and young filmmakers grow up on these stories – much like ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ and worlds we’ve returned to constantly.”

“Jurassic World: Dominion” merged the new characters played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard with the original beloved cast, including Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. But Trevorrow noted that “there’s more to come” in terms of the “Jurassic World” well, world. The writer/director confirmed he spoke with Universal about next steps for the franchise centered around a fresh crop of characters (and dinos).

“This movie clearly takes a real interest in creating new characters that a new generation is going to latch on to – Kayla Watts [DeWanda Wise], and Mamoudou Athie’s character Ramsay Cole, who I think, in the [14-minute longer] extended edition, you really feel his purpose in a greater way. And Dichen Lachman’s character [Soyona Santos], who just gets arrested at the end,” Trevorrow said.

He added, “I specifically did something different than the other films in order to change the DNA of the franchise. The previous five films are plots about dinosaurs. This one is a story about characters in a world in which they coexist with dinosaurs. For the franchise to be able to move forward – because it’s inherently unfranchisable, there probably should have only been one ‘Jurassic Park’ – but if we’re gonna do it, how can I allow them to tell stories in a world in which dinosaurs exist, as opposed to, here’s another reason why we’re going to an island?”

And Trevorrow may not even helm the next installment of “Jurassic Park.”

“What I get fired up about is, if a table has been set here for another mind to do what I did with Steven [Spielberg] and sit down and say, ‘Listen, I’ve got an idea’, I would love for that person to sit with me, or Steven, and just be like, ‘I got it!'” Trevorrow said.

Trevorrow previously told IndieWire that he tried to honor original “Jurassic Park” director Michael Crichton’s vision with the sequels, to an extent. “Honestly, I think dinosaurs and humans battling it out in the city streets is a different kind of film than what he would’ve done,” Trevorrow said. “I saw a place, a dynamic, and an equilibrium on the planet that we could potentially create where dinosaurs and humans have to coexist in the way that we do with animals, in all the different ways that we do.”

Aside from “Jurassic World” installments, Trevorrow is next writing and producing “Intelligent Life” about a United Nations employee who makes contact with a beautiful woman who may or may not be an alien. Rebecca Thomas (“The Little Mermaid,” “Archive 81”) is directing.

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