The Jurassic World franchise should stop neglecting the aquatic Mosasaurus if the series continues beyond its latest installment. Jurassic World: Dominion ends as the tentative concluding chapter for the shared Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise, while leaving the door open should Universal Pictures decide to pick things up again. Should that happen, the massive Mosasaurus must be prominently featured in any future reboots or sequels.

The original Jurassic Park trilogy never included any ocean-based dinosaurs. Jurassic World was the first to do so, showing the Mosasaurus as one of the major attractions at the operating Jurassic World theme park. After the disaster that leads to the park's closure, the Mosasaurus is accidentally set free into the oceans of the world in the opening prologue of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It also returns for Jurassic World: Dominion, but the only shared characteristic the creature has across all three films is that it only has a minor role.

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However minor, the Mosasaurus snagged memorable moments in each of its three theatrical appearances. The first installment in the modern trilogy, in particular, had the Mosasaurus leaping from its aquatic pen to devour the apex predator that was the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World's climactic dinosaur battle. Since then, the colossal creature has only had the chance to perform similar leaping attacks in both Fallen Kingdom and Dominion.

How Jurassic World 4 Can Better Spotlight The Mosasaurus

Mosasaurus attacking a fishing vessel in Jurassic World Dominion

The Jurassic World films squandered the opportunity to create dino action scenes involving submarines and other sea-faring vessels pursuing or being pursued by the Mosasaurus. Early on in the series, that would have been a great challenge. Even for the tremendous advancement in visual effects made in 1993 by Jurassic Park, adequately featuring the Mosasaurus might have been asking too much for the time.

Still, visual effects and the Jurassic Park franchise have evolved greatly since the 90s. Jurassic Park III included the flying Pteranodons while Dominion delivered on the speed of the Raptors. For as welcome a presence as the Mosasaurus has been, relegating the dinosaur of the depths to such fleeting appearances has not showcased it like the show-stealing prehistoric monster it could be if handled more creatively, with more compelling action and set pieces.

With dinosaurs sharing the Earth with mankind in Dominion, anything is possible for how the Jurassic World series might potentially move forward. The Mosasaurus, however, is far too great a dinosaur to forever remain an occasionally glimpsed cameo among other dinosaurs. In the future of the Jurassic World franchise, the series needs to leave the land behind and take to the high seas for an adventure with the Mosasaurus in the story of Jurassic World 4.

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