J.A. Bayona may be returning to direct another Jurassic World film. And while he is certainly capable of making dinosaurs look beautiful and terrifying, I have a rather obvious question. Do we really need another one?
According to TheWrap, Bayona has emerged as Universal’s frontrunner to direct the next instalment of Jurassic Park. This after Gareth Edwards left over creative differences. Bayona previously directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018. This means he already knows what happens when people build expensive dinosaur facilities and then act surprised when things start to go sideways. Now Universal has not officially hired Bayona. And reports suggest that formal talks have not started yet. But the fact that another film is moving forward should surprise absolutely nobody. These dinosaurs survived an asteroid. So I suppose surviving franchise fatigue is not that big of a deal.
The original Jurassic Park arrived in 1993 and gave audiences an experience they had not had before. Steven Spielberg made the dinosaurs feel real, but he also understood that the film needed more than impressive effects. It was about human arrogance. Which by the way is still rife. As for the Scientists, they discovered that they could bring dinosaurs back without a second thought on questioning whether they should. Then a businessman placed those dinosaurs inside a theme park, because apparently resurrecting extinct predators was not risky enough without also selling tickets. And at the time, the film felt magical, frightening and completely new.
More than three decades later, the franchise is still trying to recreate that feeling. We have returned to the islands, destroyed the parks, released dinosaurs into the wider world and created several new creatures because well… ordinary dinosaurs were no longer dramatic enough. Jurassic World Rebirth was supposed to offer another fresh start. Gareth Edwards directed the film, while original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp returned to the franchise. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey led a new cast. Now Edwards has left the follow-up, Koepp has written another script and Johansson, Ali and Bailey are reportedly expected to return if their schedules allow. The Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo. So here we are again. A new director, another chapter and the promise that perhaps this time the dinosaurs will feel fresh.
Look, I’ll admit that Bayona is an interesting choice. Fallen Kingdom may have divided audiences, but it contained some of the strongest horror imagery in the Jurassic World series. The opening sequence was tense, and the second half placed dinosaurs inside a dark mansion like extremely large ghosts that had developed an interest in eating people. The story became rather busy. There was a dinosaur auction, a cloned child and enough poor decisions to keep several health and safety departments occupied for years.
But Bayona knew how to make the creatures frightening. His work on The Orphanage, A Monster Calls and Society of the Snow also shows that he understands fear, grief and people trapped in terrible situations. So yes, Bayona could make another visually impressive Jurassic World movie. He may even bring back some of the tension the franchise has gradually replaced with larger action sequences. But that does not answer the bigger question.
What story is left to tell?
Every Jurassic film eventually returns to the same message. Human beings believe they can control nature, nature disagrees and several people discover that running in a straight line may not be the best escape strategy. We know corporations cannot be trusted with dinosaurs and that scientists will create something more dangerous because somebody offered them funding. We also know the security system will fail, the electric fence will stop working and at least one person will insist that everything remains under control while something enormous approaches them from behind.
And there is nothing wrong with returning to familiar ideas. Franchises survive because audiences enjoy certain characters, worlds and experiences. But each new film needs to offer more than another opportunity to watch a Tyrannosaurus rex arrive at exactly the right moment. The dinosaurs are still impressive. The problem is that the films no longer seem impressed by them. Instead of allowing a familiar creature to feel mysterious, the franchise keeps inventing bigger threats. A dinosaur is no longer enough. It needs additional intelligence, camouflage, unusual teeth and a name that sounds as though it was developed by a committee. And yes, bigger does not always mean better. Because sometimes one velociraptor in a kitchen is more frightening than several enormous creatures destroying a city.
Hollywood has difficulty leaving successful franchises alone, especially when they continue making money. As long as audiences buy tickets, Universal has little reason to close the park permanently. And hey, I totally understand the appeal. Dinosaurs remain fascinating, cinema screens were practically built for them and the Jurassic theme music can still make an ordinary landscape feel important. But if there is to be another film, it should be because somebody has a story worth telling, not simply because the dinosaurs remain available.
Maybe the next Jurassic World needs to move away from saving the world and become smaller. Give us a limited location, a handful of characters and one dinosaur that everyone has underestimated. Bring back the fear of hearing something nearby without immediately showing it. Or perhaps the brave decision would be to let the franchise rest until somebody finds an idea that feels genuinely new. Bayona may return, and he could make another entertaining dinosaur film. But changing the director does not automatically give the series a reason to continue.
After seven films, several destroyed parks and more ignored warnings than anybody can count, the question is no longer whether humans should bring dinosaurs back.
It is whether Hollywood should.
