5 Ways Jurassic World Sets Itself Up For Sequels

While many of us expected Jurassic World to do well in theaters, few could have predicted just how monstrous it's been at the box office. Right out the gate, the film began breaking records and has just enjoyed he highest-grossing opening weekend of all-time. Sequels were always a possibility with Jurassic World, but after an opening like that, they're inevitable and all but guaranteed. Hell, at this point, we may even get a Jurassic shared cinematic universe. Couldn't you just see a Raptor Squad spinoff or InGen prequel film set in the 30-year gap between Jurassic Park and Jurassic World? Jurassic World is a highly contained film, but - as is the case with all modern blockbusters - it purposefully leaves quite a few dangling threads to be explored in future installments. As director Colin Trevorrow intended, the inevitable sequels don't have to be "arbitrary and episodic," like the divisive The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III (which are completely ignored in JW and might as well be erased from continuity), but can establish "a series that would feel like a complete story." Here we've outlined five dangling plot threads and themes that Trevorrow establishes in Jurassic World. There's no guarantee that they'll all wind up in the sequels, but they're definitely there for the future directors that want to expand upon them and bring Trevorrow's complete story to fruition. 5) Omar Sy And The Raptor Squad French actor Omar Sy had a small role in Jurassic World as Chris Pratt's fellow raptor trainer Barry. He doesn't get much screen time, but is established as a typical Hollywood alpha male hero and actually manages to survive the film's third-act raptor/Indominus action sequence. That, and the character's relationship with Pratt's, cleverly sets him up for a sequel. Based on how much groundwork for raptor training this film managed to establish, it's safe to say that the concept will return for the next entry in the franchise. We know that Pratt will return (he's already signed on for sequels), so I wouldn't be surprised if Barry tags along as well and helps with whatever sort of raptor squad missions our new franchise hero goes on. Trevorrow mentioned in an interview with Empire last year that he wanted to establish "a relationship that could be more memorable and potentially carry on to future films." The Barry/Owen bromance was sidelined in favor of dinosaur-on-dinosaur action, so it wasn't as memorable as Trevorrow had hoped, but hey, that's what sequels are for, right? 4) Genetically-Modified Dinosaurs Jurassic World may ape many of the themes and ideas from Stephen Spielberg's seminal Jurassic Park, but it also changes the status quo for the franchise in a big way by introducing genetically modified dinosaurs like the Indominus Rex. As Dr. Wu states in the film, DNA splicing has been done since the beginning (in order to create the dinos in the first place), but things were taken to new heights with the Indominus, which was created to be bigger, meaner and "cooler" than the dinos that came before. This was accomplished by splicing several different species together, from a T-Rex to a cuttlefish, and even a velociraptor. Now that the concept has been introduced, you can bet that it will play a huge role in future installments. Scientists now have the power to create new dinosaurs, and if we know anything about humanity based on our own reality, humans absolutely love messing with DNA to genetically modify nature for our own purposes. If the dino-splicing technology falls into the wrong hands (which it most surely will - we'll explore that in a minute), we could be seeing a bevy of genetically-altered dinosaurs created for all kinds of purposes. Though Trevorrow won't return for future Jurassic films, he did tease that he'd like to see the technology go open-source in the future: "I really like the idea that this group of geneticists aren't the only people who can make a dinosaur. You know, when you think of the differences between Apple and PC - the minute something goes open source, there are all kinds of entities and interests that may be able to utilise that technology... It would be like the way we have relationships with animals on this planet right now - there are animals that are kept in zoos, like Jurassic Park, but they are also used in agriculture, and medicine and in war." While the Indominus Rex is the only genetically-modified dino in Jurassic World, that wasn't always the case. In an early draft of the script, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard's characters stumble upon a Stegoceratops - a Stegosaurus and Triceratops hybrid - out in the park. Trevorrow cut it from the film in order to make the Indominus feel more special and monstrous, but there is a hint of it in Wu's secret lab, as seen in the photo above. So, while the Indominus is the only spliced dino in the actual film, the seed for future Frankenstein dinosaurs is certainly in the film's DNA. 3) No More Amusement Parks Based on the events of Jurassic World, one thing is abundantly clear: There can't be another amusement park. This is now the second time that dinosaurs have escaped captivity and wreaked havoc on park guests. The first time it happened, not many people died and it was more of a secretive, secluded incident. Jurassic World, however, puts 20,000 people in danger. That's 20,000 potential lawsuits and 20,000 people with smartphones that would make a Pteranodon attack go viral within seconds. The legal implications from such a catastrophe alone are staggering (and, actually, could lead to a great sequel in the right hands), meaning this may very well be the last time those iconic wooden doors swing open and usher guests into a Jurassic theme park. Then again, with the dino embryos now off the island (again, more on that in a minute), anything is possible, and I could easily see the next Jurassic installment exploring the idea of Jurassic Park knock-offs that spring up in less legally-restrictive parts of the world. Would the UN try to stop something like that? Or could greed and human curiosity for the extinct allow such a thing to happen? With Jurassic World's CEO dead and the park now closed, there's also one major question left unanswered: What happens to the dinosaurs left in the park? What do you do with a gigantic Mosasaurus? You could always just leave them on the island, of course, but I'm guessing InGen will want to put them to good use... 2) InGen And The Military That brings us to one of the film's biggest, and most obvious, sequel seeds: InGen. The company has become quite evil in the days since Jurassic Park, and now has some very specific and diabolical military interests. In fact, it appears that the Indominus was created not only to bring more visitors to Jurassic World, but as a test for militarizing dinosaurs. Vincent D'Onofrio's character Vic Hoskins was very keen on bringing raptors to war, which is why he plucked Owen from the Navy in the first place. While Hoskins may have become raptor food by film's end, I'm sure he was just the tip of the iceberg, and only one InGen employee who sees dollar signs within dinosaur eggs. People may never get the chance to ride a Gyropshere next to a herd of herbivores again, but now that Owen has proven that you can ride a motorcycle next to a pack of raptors and live to tell the tale, Jurassic warfare may be on the horizon. 1) Dr. Henry Wu And The Dino Embryos Dr. Henry Wu, the geneticist who's been creating dinosaurs since the beginning, is the true villain of Jurassic World and the obvious through-line for the upcoming slew of inevitable sequels. He managed to do what Jurassic Park's Dennis Nedry never could: smuggle a bunch of dinosaur embryos off the island (as it turns out, a briefcase works a hell of a lot better than a Barbasol can). We know that Wu's become a sellout - willing to hand the embryos off to the highest biller - and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him selling dinosaurs on the black market, flooding the world with genetically modified dinosaurs. That, of course, could lead to quite a few sequels, which see Chris Pratt chasing Wu around the world and stopping dinosaur threats when they appear. In any case, Wu survived for a reason, and there's absolutely no way he and the stolen embryos don't play a huge part in the franchise going forward.