It’s been almost two years since the film Jurassic World Dominion was released and I wrote my scathing review of said film. At the time of writing the review, I had thought that I might one day do a rewrite of the film, outlining my pitch for how to make the movie better. Time has passed and my disappointment in the film has lessened (though I stand by everything in my review). So instead of a rewrite of the film (which I may still do one day, but not today), I have created a plan for where the franchise should go next.
When pondering where the franchise should go next, I debated continuing the story after Dominion or going back and pitching a prequel. Eventually, I landed on a pitch for 7 films which I like to call “In-Between-quels”. These pitches will straddle each of the existing films serving as prequels and sequels for each of them. So without further ado…
Film One: “JURASSIC”
Set in the 70s, this film tells the story of the earliest days of dinosaur cloning. A group of scientists splice DNA and have several failed experiments. Eventually, they create the first living, breathing dinosaur clones: baby triceratops, brachiosaurus, and gallimimus. They also create an unknown dinosaur, it could be some kind of raptor or perhaps a baryonyx, though neither of those seems quite right. The scientists debate what species it is, only agreeing that it is definitely a carnivore. Eventually, the unknown dinosaur breaks out of its enclosure and goes on a killing spree, beginning with the other baby dinosaur clones and eventually killing one of the scientists. It remains contained within their facilities but begins hunting down the other scientists trapped inside with it. The scientists realize that the monster chasing them is an accidental hybrid dinosaur. Eventually, they manage to kill it and then vow to abandon and destroy their research. Before they destroy everything, however, a young John Hammond steps in and buys them out, handing their research over to his company, InGen.
Film Two: “JURASSIC INVASION”
(Ideally, this film would not be advertised as a part of the Jurassic series, allowing for the ultimate twist ending. If that were possible, the title would probably have to change.)
Initially, the time period that this film is set in is unclear. The film follows an indigenous tribe on an island in the Pacific. We hear them reference “the white men” who have settled on the far side of the island. We are led to believe it may be colonial times. We learn that the small tribe once dominated this island and the four nearby islands, killing anyone who dared enter their territory. Over the years, the tribe dwindled to the small community we see now. One day, a routine hunting party ventures out into the jungle, but only one battered survivor returns. He reports that a monster attacked the party and killed them all. As the story continues, more and more members of the tribe go missing, until only one small family remains. Then, in a spine-tingling sequence, the monster attacks their home and they narrowly escape. The family makes their way to the far side of the island, to seek the help of the white men. When they arrive, we see that is actually the year 1991 and the island is none other than Isla Sorna. The white men are InGen, who did not know any humans were living on the island, and the monster is a pack of velociraptors. InGen rescues the family and removes them from the island. Of course, they cover it all up and destroy the former village, turning it into a giant birdcage for their flying dinosaurs.
Film Three: “JURASSIC SURVIVOR”
Set during and immediately after the events of Jurassic Park, this film tells the story of a random park worker who gets cut off from the others and stranded alone on the island when it is evacuated. The worker must survive completely alone and get the communications back up and running long enough to call for help.
Film Four: “JURASSIC COMPLEX”
Set between the events of Jurassic Park 2 & 3, this film shows the beginning stages of Dr. Henry Woo’s God Complex. Despite being ordered to cease all operations, he continues his cloning work and begins to really experiment. He creates the Spinosaurus we see in JP3 and it breaks loose and kills a lot of people. Henry Woo escapes the island and decides to stop cloning dinosaurs. In the epilogue, someone approaches him from the Mozrani Corporation about working for Jurassic World. The scene ends with him simply smiling in response.
Film Five: “JURASSIC ROUNDUP”
This film tells the story of Mozrani Corp rounding up all the surviving dinosaurs from both islands to create Jurassic World. The decision is made to transfer certain dinosaurs, kill others, and leave some on Isla Sorna. Some dinosaurs prove easier to round up than others, and of course, all kinds of chaos takes place. The film ends with Jurassic World opening to the public for the first time.
Film Six: “JURASSIC RESCUE”
Set before and during the first half of Fallen Kingdom, this film tells the story of a group of Dinosaur Rights activists (not associated with Clare) who manage to acquire a ship and plan to rescue as many Dinos from the impending eruption as possible. Though everything certainly goes wrong, they do manage to rescue several Dinos, only for those Dinos to be captured by pirates and taken away (further contributing to the dinosaurs set loose on the world as seen in Dominion).
Film Seven: “JURASSIC PLANET”
I don’t have a specific plan for this film just yet. But this would be the opportunity to make the film that Dominion should have been. This movie would be a terrifying look at life in a world where dinosaurs could attack at any time. The short film, Battle at Big Rock, would serve as a major inspiration for this film. The goal of this film would be to create a satisfying conclusion to the entire saga, while also leaving the door open for potential future projects.
Conclusion
Obviously, some of my pitches are more fleshed out than others, but I am happy with each pitch for what it is at this time. I really think this series is set in a world that has a lot of potential and I would hate for it to continue to disappoint. I have high hopes for the next film, which is apparently on its way. Hopefully, they consider ideas similar to mine or even better.. Whatever the future holds for the Jurassic Franchise, I am here for the ride and ready to be let down or lifted up again!