Jurassic World: Dominion Trailer Breaks Franchise Promises

2025's summer movie season roars into prehistoric territory with the arrival of the first trailer for Jurassic World: Rebirth. The seventh installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first of a "new era" following the Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard trilogy, Rebirth boasts a fresh cast including Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, and the return of original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp. However, despite the impressive talent, the trailer's premise feels like a step backward. Where is the globally dispersed dinosaur world promised by Fallen Kingdom and teased again in Dominion?

Let's dissect the trailer and explore why the Jurassic World series seems to be missing a monumental opportunity.

A Return to the Cretaceous?

The Jurassic World trilogy, while receiving mixed critical reviews, has been a consistently lucrative blockbuster franchise for over a decade. Global audiences clearly love dinosaurs. Even with Universal's intention to retire the original World trilogy cast, more dinosaur-driven blockbusters were inevitable. The studio quickly assembled a new cast and crew, with the hiring of Gareth Edwards (director of 2014's Godzilla and Rogue One) being a particularly exciting development. Edwards' skill in conveying scale in VFX-heavy films, and his experience with CGI, make him ideally suited for this kind of project.

The dinosaurs in the trailer look stunning in motion; Edwards' directorial eye and attention to detail regarding proportions and lighting elevate the visuals significantly, surpassing many recent visually underwhelming blockbusters. His achievement is even more impressive considering the compressed production schedule (hired February 2024, in production by June). While the trailer doesn't offer sufficient time to assess the new cast, the action sequences are promising, and the substantial dinosaur screen time is reassuring—a feature not always guaranteed in these films. (Remember the locusts from Jurassic World Dominion? No? We don't blame you.)

Despite cautious optimism, the trailer's persistent focus on a single island setting is concerning. The "world of dinosaurs" concept, teased since Fallen Kingdom, feels conspicuously absent.

Another Island? Really?!

The familiar trope of a dinosaur-infested island returns in Rebirth. This time, it's neither Isla Nublar nor Isla Sorna, but a mysterious third location described as "the research facility for the original Jurassic Park." Ignoring the inconsistencies with established canon, the film retreats to the franchise's comfort zone: a tropical island teeming with dinosaurs, isolated from civilization. Why this regression when the previous trilogy concluded with dinosaurs dispersed globally? Universal's official synopsis explains that five years after Dominion, the planet's ecology proves largely inhospitable to dinosaurs, with survivors confined to isolated equatorial environments.

While plausible, this feels like an unnecessary creative step backward. Why invest in building a "Jurassic World" only to abandon it? Similar to Dominion's retconning of Fallen Kingdom's ending, Rebirth discards the exciting concept of a world overrun by dinosaurs. This creative choice undermines the film's intended relaunch with new characters and ideas.

The established lore also suffers. Dominion depicted dinosaurs thriving in diverse environments, from snowy regions to urban settings. If the world was so inhospitable, why did they fare so well in the previous film? The Malta chase sequence in Dominion, featuring carnivores rampaging through a city, was arguably the film's most creative and thrilling scene. The Jurassic franchise is a Hollywood safe bet; audiences consistently want to see dinosaurs. Why not embrace the opportunity to create something truly innovative and explore uncharted territory?

The Jurassic franchise is a Hollywood safe bet, so why not take a chance and do something truly different with this series?

Of course, Jurassic World: Rebirth might have surprises beyond the first trailer. The film's original title was rumored to be Jurassic City, suggesting a setting the trailer might intentionally conceal. Regardless, the franchise needs to move beyond the tired tropical island trope. While not advocating for a full-blown Planet of the Apes with dinosaurs (though, perhaps they should consider it!), there's room for exploring new settings and scenarios. We await Jurassic World: Rebirth's release, hoping the franchise finally prioritizes innovation over recycled ideas.

Jurassic World: Rebirth - Trailer 1 Stills

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