‘Jurassic World 2’ Writers Looking For More Ways To Shock Viewers, Says J.A. Bayona

The director of Jurassic World 2 just gave an update about the upcoming sequel, and he admits that they’re working hard to surprise viewers. While the successors of Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park struggled to have stellar box office numbers, things changed when Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World hit silver screens in 2015.

Producers of the sequel are now feeling the pressure to maintain the momentum. Speaking to Collider, J.A. Bayona opened up about the film’s current status.

“We’re writing the second chapter. And the challenge is always to find the balance between what the audience is expecting, and to surprise them. And we’re writing to it right now.”

The filmmaker previously said that the sequel will be the continuation of both the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park series. This means that fans can expect to reacquaint themselves with familiar plot threads. Nonetheless, as per Bayona, they are working hard to give viewers things that they haven’t initially thought of.

Jurassic World 2 will continue to work with dinosaurs, but Bayona is hoping that they can further shed light on animal rights. In the franchise, these creatures are commonly portrayed as the vicious ones that prey on humans, but in Jurassic World 2, it appears that they will be portrayed as the victims of misguided humans who wanted to be gods.

According to El Mundo, Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow said that Bayona and the team are hoping that the sequel will introduce thought-provoking insights about animal welfare. The upcoming film will not portray dinosaurs as mere tourist attractions, but instruments to challenge real-life morals about animal rights and animal abuse.

“The dinosaurs will be a parable of the treatment animals receive today: the abuse, medical experimentation, pets, having wild animals in zoos like prisons, the use the military has made of them, animals as weapons.”

The upcoming film will let viewers contemplate and eventually sympathize with the dinosaurs. This direction is apparently different from the four previous films, although, in Jurassic World, a hint was already introduced when Chris Pratt’s character, Owen, objected to Hoskins’ (Vincent D’Onofrio) plan to take the raptors and use them for military purposes.

Bayona previously told the Toronto Sun that he’s doing his best to uphold Spielberg’s legacy, especially because he’s a self-confessed fan of the visionary. E.T. is, in fact, the first film that made him cry.

“I consider Jurassic to be Steven Spielberg’s baby, and I’m there to take care of his baby as much as possible. For me, it’s very exciting to be making this film because I grew up with his films and I’ve always been a huge fan.”

Spielberg is heavily involved in the creation of the sequel. Trevorrow is likewise helping with the script together with Jurassic World co-writer Derek Connolly. Bayona’s reputation for suspense also made him Trevorrow’s sole choice for the sequel.

“I knew I wanted Bayona to direct it long before anyone ever heard that was a possibility, so the whole thing was just built around his skill set,” he said.

Given Bayona’s record for dark films like The Orpahanage and The Impossible, Trevorrow believes that Jurassic World 2 “will be more suspenseful and scary.” The sequel will also rely on animatronics as much as possible because the aim is to “bring soul and reality” to the dinosaurs. The team hopes to create a balance between CGI and animatronics. This might be the reason for the sequel’s alleged production budget of $260 million.

Jurassic World 2 is set to begin production in March, 2017. The film is then slated for a June, 2018, release.

[Featured Image by Universal Studios]