Summary
Universal is looking to continue with itsJurassic Worldfranchise with the upcomingJurassic World 4. The film is set to feature a star-studded cast led by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend, and is expected to be separate from the previousJurassic Worldfilms. With a new cast and a new storyline, the fourthJurassic Worldmovie has plenty of potential to truly be something special. Especially with renowned filmmaker Gareth Edwards on board as the director.
To date, theJurassic Parkfranchise has proven to be a billion dollar hit for Universal, with theJurassic Worldfilms having all hit $1 billion worldwide with each new entry. Yet, despite the films and their continued popularity, they are not without their faults. With shaky storytelling that often feels like a retread, can the latestJurassic Worldinstallment remedy what the last trilogy could not?
Why Jurassic Park Continues to be Successful
Jurassic Park, which is a loose adaptation of the novel of the same name, was first released in 1993 to much acclaim. Despite not being a direct adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel, the film still managed to deliver stellar performances from its cast, a solid story, and incredible special effects and jaw-dropping animatronics. The film pulled in an impressive $981 million at the worldwide box office, with $621 million of that coming from international markets alone. The film quickly launched a franchise, withThe Lost World: Jurassic Parkreleasing in 1997, and the third film,Jurassic Park III,landing in 2001. Unfortunately, though, the sequelsnever quite captured the magicof the first film. While the animatronic work continued to dazzle, and the special effects continued to improve, thestorytelling seemed to take a nosedivewith each new installment. Gone was the excitement brought on by the first film, and left behind was a sour taste of films that lacked any sort of compelling worth. Yet, despite this, fans were thrilled to see Universal opt to revisit the franchise in 2015 withJurassic World. Once again, the film was set to feature a stellar cast led by Chris Pratt andBryce Dallas Howard, and the trailers seemed to promise an exciting return to the world of dinosaurs.
Although there were some complaints about the film, with critics noting the poor choice of shoes worn by Howard’s character, most seemed to enjoy the new installment. The film scored a fresh rating of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and received praise for it’s exciting visuals and for being an entertaining return to a franchise that seemed to have lost its footing. Sadly, theJurassic Worldfilms would suffer the same fate as the original trilogy. Yet, despite the creative decline, fans continued to show up, helping each film surpass $1 billion at the worldwide box office.Jurassic World4has a lot working for it, with a director like Edwards, and a heck of a cast, butcan it avoid the creative declinethe other films seem to suffer from? As it stands, the film has everything it needs to be successful, as long as Universal allows Edwards to work his magic.
How Edwards Can Fix Jurassic World 4
The biggest issue with theJurassic Parkfranchise is its storytelling. Despite being one of the most interesting franchises, one that happens to feature dinosaurs, the films seem unable to focus on telling a new and exciting story. Instead, each new film often feels like an attempt to rewrite the film that came before it - a retread, of sorts. There’s no interest in taking the franchise further simply because it’s already proven to be a successful franchise. Thus, Universal doesn’t seem to care that the films could do more. Thankfully, that seems likely to change with the studio’s director pick. Despite only having directed eight films to date, Edwards is an exciting choice forJurassic World 4. The writer-directorhas already tackled aGodzillafilm, and delivered a stellar indie film about aliens with 2010’sMonsters. More importantly, though, Edwards brought some much-needed excitement to Lucasfilm’sStar Warsfranchise withRogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm has had a rough-go at trying to recapture the magic of the originalStar Warsfilms, but Edwards managed to break new ground within the franchise withRogue One. Not only did he deliver a visually appealing entry that feltfresh and exciting, but he also managed to further deepen theStar Warslore.
Bringing in someone like Edwards shows promise for the franchise, suggesting the studio is finally ready to explore the world further for once. Especially as none of the previous cast members are expected to return. It finally feels like a fresh new installment, instead of a new trilogy dependent upon nostalgia. Another issue Edwards' hire can fix is giving the new cast members some depth. The firstJurassic Parkfilm made fans care about the characters, but in theJurassic Worldfilms, it was hard to really care about the new leads - which is perhaps why fans were excited to see the original trio return for the final film. Edwards has the ability to create new and exciting characters that can be more than two-dimensional. It’s something he’s proven with his previous work already. It shouldn’t be action over character development. The characters, and dinosaurs, should be more than puppets used to tell a story.
As of now,Jurassic World 4is slated to hit theaters on July 2nd, 2025.
