July 2, 2009
Will There Ever Be a Jurassic Park IV?
The Jurassic Park Discovery Center in Orlando, Florida. From Flickr user daryl_mitchell.
The Jurassic Park franchise has been having a rough time of it over the past few years. Jurassic Park III, released eight years ago, performed only modestly at the box office and was generally panned by critics. It is never a good sign when the audience is rooting for the dinosaurs to eat the lead actors so that the film will end sooner.
Still, the third film was enough of a success that a fourth installment was put into development. The question was where to take the franchise. Various ideas were tried out, including one involving a squad of super-smart Velociraptor trained for special ops missions, but no one could agree on a story. Then, last December, producer Kathleen Kennedy suggested that the franchise might be dropped. Michael Crichton, who wrote two novels the films were based upon, had passed away and it seemed like a good time to retire the series.
There is still some hope that the genetically-engineered dinosaurs might come back, though. A few weeks ago producer Frank Marshall mentioned that Jurassic Park IV is still up for consideration, even if he admitted that it was a “back-burner project.” The difficulty is figuring out where the films should go next, especially since the last film was so poorly regarded. The people-fleeing-from-dinosaurs-on-an-island bit has been done. The franchise needs something fresh (and not space dinosaurs), but we will have to wait and see if any writers can deliver.
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week.
24 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
After the third film, I don’t think they can be trusted to create a fourth that is actually any good.
Isn’t it obvious? Tyrannosaurs in F-14s!
The third-film was a bust, but that is mainly because the Actor. It probably could have been a lot better. I believe that they can make a IV film, but it doesn’t have to be called the IV. But we do need another dinosaur movie that is amazing.
I think they could make a good #4, just change the type of dinosaurs to maybe water dino’s such as Megladon and stuff like that and use quality actors not B movie scene wrecker’s.
But there are no water dinos! >:O
Also Megalodon already has his own movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284303/
[...] Some of those same researchers have now followed up with a new study published in a special all-dinosaur edition of the Anatomical Record, this time looking at a hand claw from Velociraptor. What they discovered was that the hand claw of the predatory dinosaur was also well-adapted to anchoring into surfaces. It was even strong enough to have held the dinosaur up if it attempted to climb a tree. Velociraptor lived in an arid landscape and so it probably did not actually engage in this behavior, but it is something Hollywood directors might want to take into account when they start filming Jurassic Park IV. [...]
[...] film, The Lost World, but as I did so I wondered about the fate of the franchise. Would there be a Jurassic Park IV, and if so, what dinosaurs would be in [...]
If it is, indeed, considered, then it will a be welcome sequel.
I really wish they’d get going on this. I’m almost ready to sit down and write the script myself. What’s so tough? We have any of several threads to pick up. Flying, swimming, and/or super-smart d’s–in a new location.
If I made the script, it wouldn’t be based on a new island, but in civilization like in the lost world, spino and rex will have another face but they will both loose, new replacement for velociraptors would be Dilophosaurus, new winged reptile would be Rhamphorhynchus, a marine reptile would be introduced named Ichthyosaurus, and the new main big carnivore would be Giganotosaurus. The U.S. military and other militaries would be envolved, the world would be at risk. I would name it Extinction:Jurassic Park
will there be JP4 yes or no?
i think that the dinosours should escape the first two islands and make it to the main lands without anyone knowing. in newvada deseart or something any way they start thriving and we have to send some special ops recomend 7 to take them all out beforethey spread to american communitys
the III was butchered…. I believe they could make a 4th and make it amazing with some of the modern effects that they have today.. Go check out Avatar. The point being “NEW” so to speak. There needs to be deep thought put into the next one. Jurassic park 1- create dinosaurs, run away from them. 2nd – go back and runaway from dinosaurs then bring one to america. 3rd- go back to find a boy and then run away from dinosaurs. WE WANT A NEW PLOT! So yes maybe if they brought in a new writer it could work.
They should make a fourth Jurassic Park and call it Jurassic Park: The Extinction. Then bring the original cast members back (Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards) to rid of the dinosaurs once and for all. A good ending to a good series.
I’ve loved all three of the Jurassic Park movies and am restless thinking that they may drop doing a forth. I agree that the third wasn’t as good as the previous two, but still very exciting as I really like dinosaurs and aim to become a paleontologist when I am older. I also agree that it should have all original cast members included in the forth and definetly animals such as the T-Rex and Velocraptors, re-introducing dinosuars like dilophosaurus and bringing in new ones too. I hope that they will decide to make a new one as everyone would love it and it should be dedicted to Michael Crichton. It would be sad if the movie included the animals dying though as they’re my favourite parts. I am only thirteen but have watched the movies all my life. I hope by writing this people will understand how much I love Jurassic Park means to me.
Sorry for the spelling mistakes.
jurassic park 1 2 and 3 are the best movies ever i hope and pray their will be a fourth
I honestly believe that the mentioned “Park within California” or something like that would be the best idea. They could hatch some dinosaurs here in America, and transport them to the actual park. Everything can be going good for awhile, finances are strong, everyone’s enjoying it. Then a snowstorm should hit, and cause rolling black-outs throughout the city. The park will then go into lockdown, and every exit from the park will be closed. One of the main things will be for our main characters to be evacuated, but then the velociraptors should manage to climb their way out. (There has been research to prove that their killing claws were actual good hooks for climbing, and could hold the creature up.) At that point you have velociraptors within the city, living, breeding, killing. THERE’S A MINI SCRIPT. NOW QUIT PROCRASTINATING AND START PRODUCING.
Jurassic Park 4 Idea: I think all the cast including, Alan Grant, Billy Brennan, John Hammond, Tim (Hammond’s grandson) and Lex (grandaughter), Ian Malcolm, and Elle (Laura Dern) should meet again somehow (?). What they don’t know is that the government is bringing in the highly sedated Spinosaurus, a T-Rex, and velociraptors to a place near their city, a Top Secret military facility, to have them studied. Then suspense builds when the dinosaurs mistakenly wake up, due to the wrong medication that counteracts the deep sleep. They break away and go on a rampage throughout the city, bringing in the air force to stop them. Then maybe if decided to, squeeze in a dual between the dinosaurs. While the cast is trying to get out of their way.
First, this is to CalebG.
The idea youre thinking of is really good, but it just doesn’t feel jurassic park in a way. Plus the whole idea of a dinosaur in the city already happened with the 2nd movie and plus bringing in the air force kinda has a Godzilla feel to it. Sorry thats just my opinion.
Second, I honestly didn’t think III was that bad.. i know for a jurassic park movie that it could be better, but i don’t think it should get the criticism that its getting. And if its getting this kind of criticism, i see that as an opportunity for the writers and producers to learn from what the audience thinks to lead away from what the audience disapprove of! What i’m trying to say is, They NEED to make a IV… i’m a huge jurassic park fan and i always will be!
Hey still waiting on that 4th movie to comme out i know the didnt do the best job on the 3rd one but you need to bring them back we need a new dinosaur movie and i trust that Jurrrasic Park people are the ones to bring it. Tho they are looking for a storie line for it,I think that some People should capture them and bring them back to the city , but not just the T-rex i mean bring most of them back to the city, and what happends is it getsout of control just like on the iland. The only i really want is to bring the actors from the first one and 2 one back to work as a team and try and figure away to stop them, or maybe just block them off with big fences again but comme on people there has to be a number 4
idea:megaraptors should attack the city san deiego killing the gards at the park sending the spinosaurus free destroying the california.
Hollywood should make the 4th movie that dinosaurs were tamed and taken to a zoo in Hawaii but break free when an evil general tries to take the dinosaurs to use them as weapons for WW3.
Just a thought you know.
I think everyone who didn’t die should be reunited and sent to the island and theres a plague killing the dinosaurs and the military gives the people the medicine the dinosaurs need to live but they don’t have enough medicine so there’s only a hand full left and afterwards the dinosaurs are greatful and become peacefull and the owner breeds new dinosaurs (only herbivores) and the owner gets the park he had wanted since the first movie.