How do you follow up on a franchise revival that roped in an eye-watering $1.67 billion at the international box office? By engineering a sequel that toes the line between Jurassic World 2 and Jurassic Park 5, according to director Juan Antonio Bayona.
Chatting to Cinema Blend, the A Monster Calls helmer touched base on his creative approach to the 2018 blockbuster, which is actively beginning to fill up its supporting roles with both Toby Jones and Rafe Spall on the verge of closing deals. Here, Bayona talks about the tricky balancing act that a sequel so often faces: at once respecting what has come before and serving up something new and original for audiences to digest.
“That’s a good question! I think somehow it’s both. It’s a very good question, and what we’re doing is a sequel to Jurassic World, but it’s definitely the fifth chapter of a longer saga. It’s very interesting. It’s always tricky, but you need to find a balance in what people expect to find, and the new stuff you’re bringing to the story. And I think the story is looking for a connection between Jurassic World and Jurassic Park — more than what Jurassic World did.”
That’s an interesting approach to one of cinema’s most endearing franchises. Indeed, it’s for this reason that Jurassic World 2 is held up as a “very personal” project for Bayona, who confirmed in a separate interview with Coming Soon that “shooting starts in March.”
“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.”
Jurassic World 2 is currently slated for June 22, 2018 and is very much considered the third entry into a full-blown trilogy, one which both Colin Trevorrow and writing partner Derek Connolly are actively involved in alongside Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall.
