After Jurassic World smashed box office records in summer 2015, it was only a question of when, not if, the film would get a sequel. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits theaters June 22, 2018, and it has a brand new TV spot that offers even more information about the film’s plot and the action to come.
Universal Pictures confirmed the return of Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard for Fallen Kingdom, with the pair reprising their respective roles as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing. Meanwhile, Jeff Goldblum is set to return as Dr. Ian Malcolm, a central character from 1993’s Jurassic Park and its 1997 follow-up, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The Fallen Kingdom cast also includes James Cromwell, Justice Smith, Ted Levine, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, and B.D. Wong.
Like its predecessor, the upcoming dinosaur flick is co-written by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. Trevorrow opted out of directing the sequel, but the studio found a replacement in Juan Antonio Bayona.
Off the island
As early as 2015, Trevorrow was talking about bringing the next Jurassic film off the island, and the footage that has come out in recent months shows that he has done just that. The latest teaser (see above) for the film really drives the point home; not only does it explicitly say, “The park is gone,” it shows dinosaurs in a variety of places they shouldn’t be, including on roof, in a child’s bedroom, and facing off with a lion.
“We’re not on an island anymore,” Owen (Pratt) says.
The teaser also sheds more light on the return of Ian (Goldblum). Although we get only a glimpse of him testifying about the situation, his message is delivered in voice over and it’s clear he is serving as the voice of reason.
“We resurrected the most lethal predators this planet has ever seen,” he says. “We’ve taken things way too far. Genetic power has now been unleashed. We’ve entered a new era. Welcome to Jurassic World.”
And what a warm welcome it is.
A deadlier dino?
Universal released a new trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in April, and along with offering a lot of new footage from the film, it also provided quite a bit more information about the film’s plot.
While it might be considered a spoiler of sorts, the trailer reveals that the mission that brings Pratt and Howard’s characters back to Isla Nublar isn’t exactly what it seems, and the pair soon find themselves tracking down yet another all-new, all-dangerous dinosaur.
A super-scary trailer
As expected, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was one of several upcoming movies to have a new trailer debut during the 2018 Super Bowl. The preview offered plenty of fresh footage, including a nightmare-inducing opening scene.
The first trailer
Universal spent weeks teasing the debut of the first trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and it was finally released on December 7.
Along with showcasing many of the new and familiar dinosaurs appearing in the film, the trailer also provides a peek at Goldblum’s return to the franchise.
Getting the band back together
In a December 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Howard teased the basic premise for Fallen Kingdom, and how it brings her character and and Pratt’s character together again.
A volcano threatening to destroy all of the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar — a new extinction event, of sorts — reportedly has Claire looking for help from Owen in order to get the dinosaurs off the island.
“Claire’s founded an organization, Dinosaur Protection Group, and they’re finding a way to get these dinosaurs off the island,” she explained. “She reaches out to Owen Grady to let him know this is happening. … When you see them at the beginning of this story, you get caught up as to what’s going on. … But it’s not what you would necessarily expect.”
A stampede of teasers
In the week leading up to the premiere of the first full trailer for Fallen Kingdom, Universal Pictures released a series of teasers — essentially, previews of a movie preview — offering a peek at particular scenes from the film.
Along with a scene featuring what appears to be the early stages of the volcano’s eruption, the teasers also feature Howard and Pratt’s characters encountering a familiar dinosaur: the franchise-favorite tyrannosaurus rex. There’s also a teaser featuring Pratt, Howard, and franchise newcomer Justice Smith fleeing a herd of dinosaurs as they stampede down a mountain, with the trio eventually running to safety behind a dilapidated gyroscope pod.
More teeth. pic.twitter.com/cIxukFoXVK
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) December 4, 2017
A clip hatches
From our Jurassic family to yours. @FilmBayona @PrattPrattPratt @BryceDHoward @LeDoctor #FALLENKINGDOM pic.twitter.com/KiR3et9Vx1
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) November 22, 2017
A day ahead of Thanksgiving, Colin Trevorrow gave fans a little something to be thankful for — the first Fallen Kingdom footage. The executive producer shared the clip on Twitter, writing, “From our Jurassic family to yours.” Having seen it, the animal we’re most excited right now about is not the holiday’s traditional turkey, but the baby raptor shown in the video with Pratt’s character. Watching the dinosaur nuzzle Owen is pretty cute.
The return of Ian Malcolm
With Ian Malcolm getting involved in Jurassic problems once again, fans have been curious about what the character’s role will be. Goldblum shed some light on his character’s involvement during a Radio Times interview in October, taking care to not spoil the film by speaking hypothetically.
“He might have something to say about the current confluence of circumstances around, you know, the use and misuse of technology,” Goldblum said.
The actor took it even further, adding that his character “might” do so “with some wry … irony, but some deep, wise, passionate conviction” — and do it all while wearing his trademark dark clothes and sunglasses. All of that sounds a little too specific and perfect for it to not happen, but that was as much confirmation as Goldblum was willing to give.
The first poster
When the countdown to the Jurassic World sequel got down to a year, Universal Studios commemorated the occasion by revealing the film’s title. Thanks to the first movie poster, we discovered that the upcoming dinosaur flick is called Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The movie’s official Twitter account posted the image, writing, “In one year, life finds a way.” The poster echoes that message. 
Chris Pratt shared the poster on social media as well, including a little more insight in his Instagram post’s caption.
“We are 80 days into filming!! I can’t tell you much except… This movie is gonna be freakin’ awesome! Who’s excited?” he wrote.
Count us among the excited.
A cryptic photo
After filming began in early 2017, director Bayona gave fans a look at the first photo. He posted the image in March and hyped a “new Jurassic adventure.” Of all the photos he could have chosen, he did a good job of picking a cryptic one. The image shows a girl standing in a dinosaur exhibit, which is interesting considering the films are better known for their live dinosaurs than their dead ones.
So excited to show you this!! A first look of the new Jurassic adventure. #JW2 pic.twitter.com/U7eJRANXgg
— JA Bayona (@FilmBayona) March 8, 2017
Bayona didn’t give any clues beyond that, leaving the plot as much a mystery as ever.
A dinosaur-sized message
Fallen Kingdom will educate at the same time that it entertains. In August 2016, Trevorrow shared some more details, including the fact that that there will be a message in the sequel.
“The dinosaurs will be a parable of the treatment animals receive today: the abuse, medical experimentation, pets, having wild animals in zoos like prisons, the use the military has made of them, animals as weapons,” he told El Mundo at the time.
These themes aren’t totally new to the franchise. Over the years, we’ve seen how experimentation can go wrong, the unintended consequences that can emerge, and more. However, it sounds like the film will explore fresh avenues as well. Trevorrow made it clear that Fallen Kingdom will be “a very different movie that will explore new paths.”
New setting, new danger
While we don’t know exactly what to expect from the latest Jurassic film, we know some of what not to expect. Speaking to Wired in July 2015, Trevorrow made it clear they wouldn’t have “just a bunch of dinosaurs chasing people on an island.” He seemed to hint the sequel would move away from Isla Nublar and go beyond the world of the park.
Trevorrow also teased that Fallen Kingdom will look at bigger dangers than those we have already seen. Not only did the producer mention the possibility of dinosaurs being used in warfare, he suggested that other entities could learn how to make dinosaurs. That idea was foreshadowed in Jurassic World when Dr. Henry Wu (Wong) said, “[InGen is] not always going to be the only ones who can make a dinosaur.”
There are endless interesting possibilities, and the creative minds behind the film have clearly been exploring them.
Updated on May 10: Added a new teaser for the film.
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