Fallen Kingdom Completely Changed the Jurassic World Franchise

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, in theaters now.

When Joe Johnston's Jurassic Park III hit theaters in 2001, it was a far cry from what Steven Spielberg did with the first two movies in the '90s. Jurassic Park and The Lost World, apart from being cinematic spectacles, were emotive stories painting dinosaurs' attempts to rule nature once again.

Johnston's film, however, didn't capture that essence, and as a result came off as all substance and no style. That's the reason fans were so apprehensive when the new trilogy was announced, kicking off with 2015's Jurassic World.

However, Colin Trevorrow put doubts to rest with his box-office hit, delighting fans and paving the way for director J.A. Bayona to take Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in a totally new direction. And so Bayona does, embracing the challenge and truly changing the franchise's path forward.

Bayona sets this future up using the theme of liberation, starting with Chris Pratt's Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire Dearing rescuing the dinosaurs from Isla Nublar. However, it's all part of a ruse by evil geneticist Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) and Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), who kidnap them to raise funds to create hybrids called Indoraptors. Eventually, the heroes sabotage Wu's auction at the California estate of Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), but the day's far from saved.

In order to save the imprisoned dinos from a fiery death, they're released into the world, thus making the planet their new 'park.' As a result, no longer is the franchise about them in captivity, domesticated and for show. Now, dinos are an endangered species, running wild in America. And as Jeff Goldblum's Dr. Ian Malcolm explains at the end, mankind must learn to coexist with these alpha predators once more.

This paves the way for the franchise to become more about preservation, especially as mercenaries are sure to come hunting them for game. The US Senate also wanted to leave the dinos to die on Isla Nublar, so chances are they'll be sending armies to kill the creatures too. The T-Rex is seen in Los Angeles, the Mosasaurus in Hawaii, and the Pteranodons in Las Vegas, so clearly, there's a lot to hunt. Given we don't know how much time will have elapsed between this flick and the threequel (which Trevorrow's returning to helm), there's the possibility the dinos may even have offspring (due to Wu's unconventional genetic tampering), resulting in an increase in population.

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Fallen Kingdom also ends with some shady folk escaping with dinosaurs they bought, as well as vials of DNA, so there's a chance Wu will be continuing his experiments and creating weaponized monsters. Bayona also smartly set the future up to show how the world can evolve by having dinosaurs as a working part of it, whether it be in the agricultural industry -- as labor or to create biomass; or for medicinal purposes and other experimental arms of science, which fits Trevorrow's description of the third chapter being a "sci-fi thriller."

Then there's the sociopolitical message Bayona seeds, no doubt with the intent of expanding on it later on in the larger narrative. Claire already heads the Dinosaur Protection Group, which can now grow along the lines of Greenpeace and PETA. After all, saving dinos from going extinct will be taking on a totally different dynamic as it's not about lobbies and legislation anymore, it's about action.

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This is something Owen will have to make sure his team takes seriously if they're to protect the likes of Blue, last seen in the California hills. Benjamin did leave a sanctuary for the animals, so the rescue movement has indeed been transformed to one of wildlife relocation.

It'll also be interesting to see dinosaurs used for recreation (such as racing events and in fights for people to bet on), and maybe as pets. We might even see people worshipping their return as signs from above, maybe even prophecies, if the franchise wants to get that weird and kooky.

All in all, these animals are currently rummaging about like lost refugees, so it's up to Owen and Claire to leverage Benjamin's haven as a solution. Time will be of the essence, of course, but ultimately, it's worth the risk, as our protagonists view dinosaurs as more than just science gone wrong in what's now a new world, and a brand-new jurassic age.

Directed by J.A. Bayona from a script by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and B.D. Wong, joined by Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Ted Levine, Geraldine Chaplin, James Cromwell, and Jeff Goldblum.