2015’s Jurassic World rebooted the much-loved Jurassic Park franchise in spectacular style. It broke records in its opening weekend when it grossed $500 million worldwide, and then went on to become the fourth-highest grossing film of all time with a total of $1.6 billion in box office revenue. Following that great success, it was inevitable that Universal Pictures would decide to follow it up with a sequel soon after. Jurassic World 2 has, therefore, been confirmed, and is set for release on June 22, 2018. So what do we know so far, and will the filmmakers expand the franchise further?
Filmgoers that adored Chris Pratt’s performance as Owen Grady, the fearless Indiana Jones-like park ranger in Jurassic World, will be looking forward to seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy actor return next year. They will also be intrigued as to how the filmmakers will be able to top the incredible CGI and action sequences from the 2015 film, which included the formidable Indominus Rex. According to Colin Trevorrow, the director of Jurassic World, the forthcoming film will be “deeper and more character-based,” but also include plenty of suspense in the second half. Another big announcement is that Jeff Goldblum will be reprising his role as Dr Ian Malcolm from the original film, something that is sure to bring in an older section of viewers for nostalgic reasons. But for Jurassic World 2 to outdo its predecessor in terms of box office figures, the studio may need to branch out into other areas to attract wider audiences.
A lot of film franchises nowadays look towards the gaming industry to help enhance their product and gain more fans. Batman has been well represented in recent years with the Arkham series of games, the Telltale Games series, and the Dark Knight online slot. A variety of slots available online from developers like Microgaming are based on films such as Terminator 2, and there is already a Jurassic Park slot in existence as well. The game features enhanced graphics and parallax scrolling effects, as well as a randomly triggered T-Rex Alert Mode. If Microgaming followed this up with a Jurassic World slot, it could be an excellent way to promote the new film.
A console game could serve the same purpose and reel in the PlayStation and Xbox crowds. The revamped Tomb Raider games should make people aware of next year’s Tomb Raider film, and this year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming origin story from Marvel will soon be accompanied by a PlayStation 4 title from Insomniac Games. Marvel have also confirmed that there will be more console titles to follow based on their other hit films such as the Avengers.
In terms of Jurassic World 2 being able to outdo its predecessor, it has the advantage of a ready-made audience who are eager to see the follow-up to such a great film. The likelihood is that it will start off strong no matter what, but the overall audience that it manages to attract will then be based on reviews, and whether it’s any good. With Trevorrow returning to write the script, it once again has the potential to smash box office records.