One of Owen Grady’s (Chris Pratt’s) jokes in the second Jurassic World Dominion trailer shows how the Jurassic Park franchise has changed since the first Jurassic Park movie. Set to premiere on June 10, 2022, Jurassic World Dominion will complete the second Jurassic Park film trilogy and explore the consequences of dinosaurs escaping onto the mainland. Although previous Jurassic World movies have included some references to the original Jurassic Park trilogy, especially Jeff Goldblum’s cameo as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World Dominion will include the most direct connection. To conclude the series, Jurassic World Dominion will bring back the classic trio of characters from Jurassic Park: Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm again.
Characters from Jurassic Park and Jurassic World will have to face the rampant dinosaurs together, but Owen will have a much more specific goal in Jurassic World Dominion. Although the trailer did not reveal how, Blue, Owen’s favorite Velociraptor, had a baby. When this baby gets kidnapped on Owen’s property, he sets off to rescue her. This decision does not garner support from the Jurassic Park characters though. When Owen explains that he promised Blue that he would bring her baby home, Ian responds with “You made a promise to a dinosaur?” As one of the trailer’s most prominent jokes, Owen simply replies, “Yeah, why?”
While Jurassic World Dominion will connect the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies, this joke highlights how the Jurassic Park franchise has changed. In the original Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs were wild animals. Jurassic World introduced the idea that humans could train dinosaurs, which eventually evolved into Owen and Blue having an emotional connection. This relationship starkly contrasts Jurassic Park’s approach to how characters perceive and interact with dinosaurs. In this way, Jurassic World Dominion has become more similar to typical action-adventure movies, shifting away from Jurassic Park’s foundational science fiction and horror elements.
Although Jurassic World Dominion will include many science fiction elements, they will not be featured in the same way as in Jurassic Park. Both trilogies have used DNA and genetic engineering to explain the existence of dinosaurs and then examined the consequences of using this technology irresponsibly. However, Jurassic World has reduced the character’s fascination with the creation of dinosaurs. While dinosaurs were seen as a miracle in Jurassic Park, they had become commonplace in Jurassic World due to the park having been open for years. This led to Henry Wu (BD Wong) having to make dinosaurs more interesting by bioengineering new, more dangerous species, such as the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World and the Indoraptor in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Although the dinosaurs are only alive due to science, the wonder of their existence and the science behind it has lessened.
Similarly, Jurassic World Dominion has shifted away from some of Jurassic Park’s horror elements. In Jurassic Park, the characters admired the dinosaurs but also feared them as terrifying beasts. That fear is still present in Jurassic World Dominion, but it is not always necessary. While the Velociraptors were one of the scariest dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, Owen and Blue have a close bond, resulting in the joke about Owen making a promise to her. In this way, the dinosaurs are not always horrifying because humans can forge relationships with some of them. Although Jurassic World Dominion maintains its connection to its science fiction and horror roots, Owen Grady’s joke proves that the Jurassic Park franchise has changed as it shifted toward the action-adventure genre.
