Jurassic World was easily the biggest box-office surprise of 2015. Sure, Chris Pratt hanging out with CGI dinosaurs was guaranteed to make money, but nearly $1.7 billion? Few predicted a number that staggering. As the brontosaurus-sized piles of cash continued to flow in, Universal quickly greenlit a sequel, and even started talking about a possible Jurassic World trilogy.
That said, nothing stays hot forever, and things have been mostly quiet on the Jurassic World 2 front this year. Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona was chosen to step in for Colin Trevorrow back in January, and since then, we haven’t heard much. Well, after months of radio silence, Bayona has resurfaced — in conjunction with the premiere of his latest film, A Monster Calls, at TIFF — to explain why he thinks he was picked to take over the Jurassic World series.
“I think they love The Impossible and The Orphanage. Especially Colin Trevorrow loved those movies.”
It makes sense – The Orphanage was a tense, old-school horror flick, and The Impossible was a well-staged disaster movie with tons of CGI effects. Bayona pretty much has the perfect Jurassic Park resume. Bayona also gave an update on Jurassic World 2‘s progress, and confirmed it’s the second part of a trilogy.
“It’s very interesting. The whole Jurassic World is a trilogy that Colin Trevorrow has envisioned. We’re writing the second chapter, and it’s very interesting where he’s leading the story. I grew up watching Steven Spielberg movies and I love those movies and the legacy, so it’s a question of being truthful to the legacy and at the same time, bringing new stuff that people will appreciate. We are still six months ahead of shooting, and so far, so good. It’s very exciting right now.”
It’s surprising that Colin Trevorrow is still so immersed in the Jurassic World process when he has a Star Wars movie to focus on, but hey, what self-respecting nerd wants to stop playing with dinosaurs?
Jurassic World 2, which will once again star Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, is scheduled to stomp into theaters on June 22, 2018.
(Via LRM)
