The Jurassic Park movie franchise returned with a vengeance at the box office in 2015 with Jurassic World, a semi-continuation of previous installments in the sci-fi property that shifted the action to the present-day; where the late John Hammond's dream of a fully operational dinosaur amusement park (or, rather, dino-island) had finally been realized. Jurassic World was an unexpectedly huge commercial hit, taking in $1.67 billion and in the process, guaranteeing that Universal and co-writer/director Colin Trevorrow's hopes for a Jurassic World film trilogy (plans that were first brought to light before the movie even hit theaters) will almost certainly come to fruition.

Jurassic World 2, as the sequel is currently known, is once again being written by Trevorrow and his writing partner, Derek Connolly, but has The Impossible and A Monster Calls filmmaker J.A. Bayona in the director's chair instead of Trevorrow (as the latter is now preparing to helm Star Wars: Episode IX instead). It's been reported for some time now that production on the Jurassic World sequel would be getting underway in February of this year and now, we can confirm that it's doing just that.

Bayona took to Twitter not too long ago to tease the start of production on Jurassic World 2, though he neglected to mention a specific start date with his update. Now Jurassic Park/World franchise producer Frank Marshall has confirmed that his London-based production office for the next Jurassic World installment is up and running, via the following Twitter post:

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Chris Pratt will be reprising his Jurassic World role as dino-wrangler (and Velociraptor whisperer) Owen in the sequel, though currently the actor is down in Pinewood Atlanta Studios and not in London, reprising his role as Star-Lord for another blockbuster due out in 2018 - Avengers: Infinity War. Filming accommodations have no doubt been made for Pratt to finish his Marvel Cinematic Universe duties before he heads out to London, to join his fellow Jurassic World 2 castmates; including Bryce Dallas Howard, who is returning as the Jurassic World series co-protagonist, Claire (now, without the high heels).

Joining Howard and Pratt in the Jurassic World sequel's cast are several promising Jurassic franchise newcomers; among them being Toby Jones (Sherlock), Justice Smith (The Get Down) and Daniella Pineda (The Detour), in as-yet unspecified leading roles. The only real given about the Jurassic World 2 plot is that it picks up the major story threads left dangling at the end of Jurassic World; namely, that the eponymous establishment is no longer up and running and that dino-gene expert Henry Wu (BD Wong) isn't done engineering dinosaur hybrids for shady government officials just yet.

With a different, but acclaimed director guiding the boat now and the potential for a storyline that truly stands apart from those for Jurassic movies past, the hope is that Jurassic World 2 will improve upon its predecessor in most every respect... but still offer as much in the way of fun, goofy, blockbuster entertainment value. Now that production is up and going on the sequel, it may only be a matter of time before set photo leaks and teases from the film's cast/crew start to do their part in getting Jurassic fans excited for the film - one that aims to commemorate the original Jurassic Park's 25th anniversary in style, when it arrives.

NEXT: Jurassic World 2 Plot Hints

Source: Frank Marshall