Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

The park is gone, but the dinosaurs are not safe from humanity's greed.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom serves as the second installment in the Jurassic World trilogy, released globally in 2018. Directed by J.A. Bayona, this sequel expands the franchise beyond the amusement park setting to explore ethical dilemmas surrounding extinction and corporate greed. The narrative follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing three years after the events of the previous film. They are drawn back into conflict when a dormant volcano threatens Isla Nublar, forcing them to decide whether to save the dinosaurs or let nature take its course.

Quick Facts

Director

J. A. Bayona

Writer

Derek Connolly; Colin Trevorrow

Based on

Characters, Michael Crichton

Producer

Frank Marshall
Patrick Crowley
Belén Atienza
Sajid Nadiadwala

Starring

Chris Pratt
Bryce Dallas Howard
Rafe Spall
Toby Jones
Ted Levine
BD Wong
Jeff Goldblum

Cinematography

Óscar Faura

Editing

Bernat Vilaplana

Music

Michael Giacchino

Lore & Background

This film deepens the lore regarding the origins of the cloned specimens. It reveals that Sir Benjamin Lockwood was John Hammond's partner in the de-extinction of the dinosaurs until a dispute over using the same technology for human cloning ended their association. Themes of ownership versus stewardship dominate the narrative. The characters grapple with the morality of keeping dinosaurs alive when they no longer have a natural habitat, leading to decisions that alter the balance between human civilization and prehistoric life forever.

Reader's Guide

Three years after the Jurassic World incident, an impending volcanic eruption threatens Isla Nublar's dinosaurs. Owen Grady and Claire Dearing return to rescue the remaining dinosaurs before they vanish forever. On the island they reactivate the park's tracking system to locate the animals, particularly Blue, the last surviving Velociraptor. The mission is organized by Sir Benjamin Lockwood and his assistant, Eli Mills, who reveal a plan to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary.

The captured dinosaurs are actually transported to the Lockwood estate in Northern California. There Mills auctions them, and previews the Indoraptor, a weaponized, transgenic dinosaur created by Dr. Henry Wu. Owen disrupts and ends the auction by luring a Stygimoloch into the room, and in the chaos the Indoraptor escapes. The Indoraptor chases Owen, Claire, and Maisie throughout the mansion until Blue attacks and fights it.

Ultimately, when the unsold captive dinosaurs are threatened by a hydrogen cyanide leak, Maisie releases them into the wild, signaling the end of isolation and the beginning of an era in which humans and dinosaurs must coexist.