‘Jurassic World 2’ Is A Sequel To ‘Jurassic World’ And Works As ‘Jurassic Park 5’ Too

Jurassic World wasn’t just one of the most successful films of 2015, but after taking in $1.670 billion, it’s also the fourth highest grossing film of all time, too.

Obviously, that means that there’s not just a lot of pressure on its 2018 sequel to match this success, but it also has to be a platform for future follow-ups, too. It isn’t just its immediate predecessor that Jurassic World 2 has to match, though, as it also has to live up to Steven Spielberg’s original 1993 classic Jurassic Park, as well as 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 2001’s Jurassic Park 3.

Juan Antonio Bayona, who is stepping into the chair following the departure of Colin Trevorrow to oversee Star Wars: Episode 9, has now revealed that Jurassic World 2 will indeed play off of the original trilogy, while at the same time working as a sequel to Jurassic World, too.

Bayona made this admission to CinemaBlend, who originally quizzed the filmmaker about whether Jurassic World 2 is more of a sequel to the 2015 effort or a continuation of all four of the previous films.

“I think somehow it’s both,” J.A. Bayona admitted.

“It’s a very good question, and what we’re doing is a sequel to Jurassic World, but it’s definitely the fifth chapter of a longer saga. It’s very interesting. It’s always tricky, but you need to find a balance in what people expect to find, and the new stuff you’re bringing to the story. And I think the story is looking for a connection between Jurassic World and Jurassic Park — more than what Jurassic World did.”

Juan Antonio Bayona also admitted in the same interview that Jurassic World 2 will set-up its own sequel, too, before then slightly backtracking on his original answer as he suggested that it mostly works as a follow-up to the original. “I think what this film does is it’s the second chapter of the story that started in Jurassic World, and it’s open to a third chapter too,” Bayona explained.

“It’s very interesting in the way that we’re approaching the story, and where we are leading the story. We’re leading the story to a place that the audience is not expecting, and that’s always exciting when you do a sequel.”

Over the last few months, J.A. Bayona has been out promoting his latest film, A Monsters Call, which has been met with sterling reviews after debuting at the Toronto Film Festival and is due to be released in U.S. cinemas on December 23. While out waxing lyrical about the fantasy drama discussions have, as you’d expect, turned to Jurassic World 2.

Bayona has been more than happy to answer these queries, though, and in the process, he has teased a much different film to Colin Trevorrow’s version. In fact, just a few weeks ago Bayona confirmed to Noticias RCN (via Jurassic World 2 Movie) that Jurassic World 2 will be much “darker and “scarier than the previous film.” Bayona even went as far as to name Star War: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan as inspirations. But don’t be too alarmed, because Bayona also made sure to insist that because of the continued involvement of Chris Pratt it will still be very funny, too.

Colin Trevorrow, who is still returning as a producer on Jurassic World 2, despite his Star Wars commitments, has also been echoing Bayona’s remarks about the tone of the sequel. While speaking to Jurassic Outpost Colin Trevorrow insisted that it will be much “more suspenseful and scary” and that Bayona had been hired to direct it because he possesses the “skillset” to do make it just that.

We’ll see if both Jurassic World 2 and Juan Antonio Bayona can live up to this promise when it’s finally released on June 22, 2018.

[Featured Image by Universal Pictures]