‘Jurassic World 2’ Takes The Franchise In A ‘Very Interesting’ Direction, Insists J.A. Bayona

Director J.A. Bayona has revealed that the upcoming sequel to Jurassic World is going to take the franchise in a “very interesting” direction.

The Spanish filmmaker admitted that Jurassic World 2, which is still untitled, is very different to the previous installments to the franchise, declaring it much darker, but insisting that it still possesses the attributes and cinematic traits that have made the franchise so universally popular.

J.A. Bayona made this admission to Coming Soon during the press tour for his latest film A Monster Calls. Discussions soon turned to Jurassic World 2, though, as J.A. Bayona was quizzed about the “pseudo-political subtext” that might pop up in the sequel. This provoked J.A. Bayona to respond.

“I think there’s a lot of that in the new Jurassic. I think there’s a lot of possessiveness towards our creations. I think it’s very interesting where the new movie is heading. It’s so different from the other films, it talks a lot about the moment we live in right now. It’s darker… but at the same time it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a blockbuster, you have Chris Pratt, it’s a great adventure, but it’s very interesting the way the film is darker than the other ones.”

Meanwhile, J.A. Bayona insisted that with Jurassic World 2, he’s trying to tow the line between adapting his cinematic voice and style for the humungous franchise, but also still incorporating the traits that made Steven Spielberg and the Jurassic Park team ask him to oversee the next installment. J.A. Bayona explained.

“You need to adapt, you need to know where you are. Jurassic is going to be very different from A Monster Calls or The Orphanage, but they called me because they loved The Orphanage and The Impossible and they wanted me to be leading the new Jurassic. I think you’re going to find some stuff that will remind you of my movies. At the same time I’m very aware that this is Steven’s baby and I’m going to take care of his baby as much as possible, knowing where I am all the time.”

There’s quite a lot for J.A. Bayona to live up to with Jurassic World 2. That’s because Jurassic World proved to be a runaway smash hit when it was released in the summer of 2015, as it went on to gross $1.670 billion at the box office.

While Jurassic World was always expected to do well, it wasn’t expected to break box office records, as it took in over $500 million worldwide in its opening weekend alone. Currently, Jurassic World is the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, and it was little surprise when a sequel was greenlit immediately after its release.

Unfortunately, the franchise had to look elsewhere for a director after Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow signed up to helm Star Wars: Episode 9 instead. It didn’t take long for those overseeing the Jurassic World franchise and its sequels to decide upon J.A. Bayona, though, because of his impressive work on the likes of The Impossible and The Orphanage.

However, when they initially approached J.A. Bayona the Spaniard had already agreed to oversee the World War Z sequel. But by January 2016, J.A. Bayona had left the zombie war film, and he was approached once again by producers Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy. J.A. Bayona couldn’t turn them down at the second time of asking, and he has since been working tirelessly on the blockbuster, as well as putting the finishing touches to his upcoming drama A Monster Calls.

A Monster Calls will actually be released in select cinemas on Christmas Day, while Jurassic World 2 is earmarked for release on June 22, 2018.

[Featured Image by Universal Pictures]