Jurassic World put Universal way ahead of every other studio last summer, trouncing previous domestic box office records and amassing a huge $1.7 billion worldwide gross. While its overwhelming success came as a surprise, the fact that a sequel was greenlit shortly thereafter did not. The wheels were set in motion for Jurassic World 2 one year ago, but it was only this January that executive producers Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow installed Juan Antonio Bayona at the helm.
Clearly things are progressing well on the monster follow-up, as we’ve now got word that the movie is scheduled to commence filming in early 2017.
The report hails from Jurassic Outpost, a fansite dedicated to the dinosaur series, which revealed that the movie starts shooting on February 27, 2017 in Hawaii. The tropical idyll has served as the backdrop for most of the franchise instalments – standing in for Isla Nublar – but it’s expected to only appear for a brief portion of the film. The rest of the shoot will take place at London’s Pinewood Studios.
Bearing in mind the recent comments made by Trevorrow, who returns to script the film with co-writer Derek Connolly, this switch in locale makes sense. Part of the pre-production story planning involving Bayona and the two writers has made every effort to separate the movie from the well-trod territory of its predecessors. So, while we’ll get a certain part of the film play out on an island, the rest will take place elsewhere as more and more companies get their hands on dino DNA and start crafting their own beasts.
Reuniting onscreen for this next chapter are Chris Pratt as the Raptor tamer Owen, and Bryce Dallas Howard as former park manager Claire. After the events of the last movie, both will be already pretty familiar with what happens when scientists play God with dinosaurs, so expect them to be schooling newcomers on the perils of DNA mash-ups when Jurassic World 2 hits theaters on June 22, 2018.
