Jurassic World Rebirth is the start of a new era for the franchise, but it could still hold some massive connections to the other six Jurassic movies. After trilogies for Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, Universal gave the dinosaur franchise new life by announcing Jurassic World 4. The movie, directed by Gareth Edwards, is viewed as a reset for the series that will usher in a fresh start for the franchise, even as it certainly builds on what came before in the Jurassic timeline. This includes having a story set five years after the last installment, Jurassic World Dominion.
As the seventh movie in the overall Jurassic franchise, there are immediate possibilities for it to hold strong connections to previous installments, even if Jurassic World Rebirth‘s title implies a relaunch. So far, most details regarding how Jurassic World 4 is connected to the earlier movies is unconfirmed. Early plot and character details do enough to provide some understanding of what the movie is about, but no significant connections are confirmed. However, some of the particulars tease the connections Jurassic World Rebirth could have to the past and its importance to the franchise overall.
Jurassic World Rebirth Builds Off Jurassic World Dominion’s Ending
It’s Continuing Some Major Storylines Set Up
Since Jurassic World Rebirth takes place after Jurassic World Dominion‘s ending, it is only natural for it to continue exploring some of the ideas Colin Trevorrow’s film set up in its final moments. The biggest of these is the idea that humans and dinosaurs need to learn how to coexist in the same habitats. This was teased on a smaller scale in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but the trilogy ended with dinosaurs still very much on the loose and figuring out their place in a world they haven’t been apart of in 65 million years.
Jurassic World Rebirth‘s synopsis suggests that the difficulties dinosaurs face will be a major focus of the new movie. It mentions that Earth’s ecology is “largely inhospitable to dinosaurs” which has forced any that remain to live in “isolated equatorial environments” with climates similar to those from before. It sounds like the dream of having humans and dinosaurs live in harmony is impossible, with the dinosaurs in particular in danger of being wiped out by how much Earth has changed.
Furthermore, the movie is set to continue exploring the importance of dinosaur DNA and experimenting with it, just as all six prior movies have done. Jurassic World Rebirth will do so by having Scarlett Johansson’s character lead a team trying to get DNA samples from three types of dinosaurs that could hold the key to creating a drug that has “miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.” The previous movies explored humanity’s interest in cloning and evolving dinosaurs by creating new ones. After using that technology to create human clones like Maisie, humans are now looking to evolve by using dino DNA.
Jurassic World Rebirth’s Setting Could Connect To The Isla Islands
Is It A Third Isla Island?
The exact location of Jurassic World Rebirth‘s setting is not confirmed, but it is known that the movie will predominantly take place on an island. This can be determined through the synopsis detailing Johansson’s character’s team coming across a ship-wrecked family as “they all find themselves stranded on an island.” While there are hundreds of islands around the world, they are notable locations in the Jurassic franchise thanks to the different Isla islands that John Hammond frequently used.
The franchise has only gone to Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna
Although it is not official, there is a chance that Jurassic World Rebirth‘s island setting is one of the Isla islands. The franchise has only gone to Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna. However, there has long been speculation about other islands that could exist nearby and connect to Hammond’s original research or even the works of InGen or Masrani Global Corporation. It’s worth noting that Mahershala Ali’s character is standing in front of a sign with the InGen logo in a first-look image. That could signify that this is an old InGen research location and a new, previously unexplored setting.
Jurassic World Rebirth’s Characters Could Hold Connections To Other Franchise Characters
Are They Related To Past Characters?
Currently, Jurassic World Rebirth‘s cast of characters are an entirely new batch of people who have no known connections to the franchise’s past leads. Jonathan Bailey’s character might look like a grown-up Tim from Jurassic Park, but he’s really paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis. And Scarlett Johansson’s character is Zora Bennett, so she’s not an adult Lex either. Every confirmed character for the movie is wholly original, and there are no confirmed returning cast members at this stage – so don’t expect Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, or Bryce Dallas Howard to appear.
There could still be some twists and surprises with Jurassic World Rebirth‘s characters, though. Someone could be connected to The Lost World characters like Vince Vaughn’s Nick Van Owen or Julianne Moore’s Sarah Harding. It’s even possible that Johansson’s Zora works for someone with a connection to the franchise’s past. The stronger bet is that Jurassic World Rebirth will focus on entirely new characters, but since this is a massive franchise, a connection or two to someone from the past would not be the most surprising development.