Trilogies — everybody, it seems, wants to do one. It was pioneered cinematically, mostly, by “Star Wars” (some might argue “The Godfather,” but that left a decade and a half between its second and third instalments, with the third only tacked on because Coppola had money troubles), but had few imitators, only becoming really popular after the back-to-back success of “The Matrix” and “Lord Of The Rings.”
Suddenly, every movie was seemingly being envisioned as a trilogy, something that continues to this day. And it makes sense — the concept of a story in three parts mirrors the beginning-middle-end three-act structure for much of the world’s storytelling, and comforts an audience that they’re being told a complete story, not just wheel-spinning (even if they might later go on and extent the trilogy). Sometimes it’s been successful creatively, sometimes… not (see “The Hobbit”), but it’s still endemic, and the latest movie to definitely do it is “Jurassic World.”
Few would call the first three films in the “Jurassic Park” franchise a trilogy — that was simply one great movie and two bad sequels, with no grand vision driving a larger story. But, according to “A Monster Calls” director J.A Bayona, who left the “World War Z” sequel to helm the second film in the series, the semi-reboot (the first film of which is currently the fourth-biggest movie in history) has been envisioned from the ground-up as part of a trilogy.
“We’re very into ‘Jurassic World’ right now” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s very exciting. Colin Trevorrow has envisioned a whole trilogy of films. Very ambitious. And we’re writing the second chapter, working very close together.” It’s a firm confirmation that this is part of a trilogy, and also reiterates that Trevorrow hasn’t completely jumped ship for “Star Wars: Episode IX” yet, and is still closely involved with the franchise.
As for plot details, Bayona isn’t spilling, but Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are returning, so hopefully it’ll hue close to our ideal plot for the sequel, a courtroom drama where Howard’s character faces a trial for gross criminal negligence and corporate manslaughter. “Jurassic World 2” will open on June 22nd, 2018, so will likely be going before cameras early next year. In the meantime, catch up with our review of Bayona’s brilliant “A Monster Calls,” which opens in December.