Speaking with Total Film, acclaimed director J.A. Bayona (The Impossible; A Monster Calls) cited several horror films, including 1979's Dracula and a number of Hitchcock classics, as his influences while designing his upcoming gothic, suspense-filled Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. To add to the thrills, Bayona even made a pact with his actors, including Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, that he would attempt to catch them off-guard during takes in order to up the authenticity of the scares, which seems to have worked according to Howard, “You can imagine what [J.A.’s] version of this movie is going to be, because he is just really good at scaring the shit out of you, and doing it in a way that’s emotionally rooted. It’s connected to character, as opposed to connected to the jump scares.”
Since Bayona only just completed post-production a few weeks ago, the final version of the movie hasn't screened to anyone yet, but Bayona is really looking forward to the day that he can unleash the movie onto th world, “I’m dying to see the movie with an audience, because definitely, we are betting for it to be more scary than ever. But let’s see what happens when we show the movie.”
Writer/producer Colin Trevorrow, who has already been confirmed to return to direct the next installment, explains his thought process before bringing a talent of Bayona's caliber on board for this latest chapter in the long-running Jurassic Park franchise, "I felt different voices are crucial to keeping it fresh and entertaining. What we have concocted here is something that not every filmmaker can pull off.” He also once again assures us that we've hardly seen anything yet and the similarities to The Lost World: Jurassic Park are surface-level at best. He promises that right around the halfway mark, the new movie goes in "a sharply different direction, and it does not turn back."
Check out the new new stills below along with both variations of the latest Total Film cover:
It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles.
When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.
With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful series in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom features:
Director: J.A. Bayona
Chris Pratt as Owen Grady
Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing
B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu
Toby Jones in an undisclosed role
Rafe Spall as Eli Mills
Justice Smith as Franklin Webb
Daniella Pineda as Zia Rodriguez
Ted Levine in an undisclosed role
James Cromwell as Benjamin Lockwood
Geraldine Chaplin in an undisclosed role
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will roar into theaters June 6 in the UK & June 22 in the US!