Jurassic World 2 Begins Filming in March 2017

Steven Spielberg’s classic 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park was successful enough to launch a trilogy of films that included 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 2001’s Jurassic Park III. However, after more than 20 years since the original movie hit theaters, the franchise was given a soft reboot in the form of Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World. The fourth film in the series was a massive hit at the box office and earned decent reviews among critics and moviegoers. As a result, Universal Pictures gave the official green light to Jurassic World 2 — though the sequel has yet to be given an official title.

Trevorrow co-wrote the scripts for both Jurassic World and its sequel, but passed the directing reigns for Jurassic World 2 to Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage). The creative team on the fifth film in the Jurassic Park franchise is hard at work, and Bayona himself has offered an update on when fans can expect cameras will begin to roll on the sequel.

While speaking to ComingSoon about his upcoming picture, A Monster Calls, Bayona revealed that Jurassic World 2 will begin filming in March of 2017. This news confirms a previous report that the movie would start production early in 2017 — though a bit later than initially reported — and makes sense given the film’s June 2018 release date. Furthermore, Bayona discussed working with Trevorrow and Jurassic Park veterans on the upcoming sequel:

Every story is different and you need to find the depth of every story and try to express it on the screen. The Jurassic World sequel is a more collaborative filmmaker experience, not only with Colin Trevorrow, but also with Steven [Spielberg] and with Frank Marshall. It’s their baby as much as it is mine. It’s about sharing views and working together to bring the story to life. But, at the same time, the way I face telling a story is to find something very personal. I think there will be plenty of myself also in the film.


In terms of Bayona putting his own personal touch on Jurassic World 2, he previously explained the film will be “darker and scarier,” while Trevorrow additionally said the sequel will be “more suspenseful and scary.” Given Bayona’s work in horror with The Orphanage and the dark tone of A Monster Calls, it seems the director is a perfect fit for Jurassic World 2. But, with Bayona speaking to the “collaborative filmmaker experience” of the followup to Trevorrow’s blockbuster, it’s clear the sequel will still fit into the Jurassic World universe.

As for the actual story that will be explored by Jurassic World 2, details are being kept strictly under wraps. However, Trevorrow did tease the sequel will be a “parable of the treatment animals” dealing with abuses like medical experimentation or being used as weapons. Of course, Jurassic World dealt with some of these themes, especially in regards to the hope that the park would be able to weaponize the Velociraptors.

As for the cast, we know both Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will be reprising their roles as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, respectively. Plus, Jurassic World 2 recently added Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Rafe Spall (Prometheus) in key roles, though details about their characters have not been released. Given how little we know about Jurassic World 2, it remains to be seen how the sequel will eventually come together. But, with filming set to begin early next year, perhaps it won’t be too long before we learn more.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Jurassic World 2 release date: Jun 22, 2018