When Jurassic Park arrived in 1993, its premise was simple: genetically engineered dinosaurs in a remote theme park resort. Three decades and six sequels later, its tether to reality has worn so thin it’s barely visible. With each new entry, the franchise has pushed further into the strange, the convoluted, and the outright implausible. If the series does continue, Jurassic World Rebirth 2 looks set to be the most outlandish chapter yet.
Released this summer, Jurassic World Rebirth was directed by Gareth Edwards and written by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp. The film starred Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, and grossed over $860 million worldwide. Commercially successful but critically divisive, the film drew mixed to negative reactions from fans, audiences, and critics alike.
Much of the criticism centered on the film’s weak plot, thinly drawn characters, mutant dinosaurs, and a major storytelling decision that rewound the franchise’s trajectory.
After Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022) established dinosaurs thriving across the globe, Rebirth retconned that concept entirely. The film shifted the focus on yet another InGen island and introduced genetically mutated dinosaurs that bore little resemblance to any known species.
Those last two points also indicate a bigger problem. The franchise has now burned through nearly every scenario imaginable. Jurassic World (2015) introduced hybrid dinosaurs, Fallen Kingdom revealed human cloning through Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), and Dominion brought dinosaurs into our world. And now, Rebirth has leaned into mutant dinos, which sounds like something you’d see in a B movie and not Jurassic.
Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth 2’: Where Could the Franchise Go Next? | Disney Dining
Universal Pictures hasn’t announced a sequel yet, and Jurassic World Rebirth 2 remains only rumored to be in development. But if another sequel does happen, it will inherit a franchise that has stretched its premise to the breaking point. Whether that leads to a course correction or an even stranger turn of events for the franchise remains to be seen.
Jurassic World Rebirth stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).
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