Overview The films begin as an adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1990 novel with the film
Jurassic Park. After an incident with a velociraptor in Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, theme park owner John Hammond (
Richard Attenborough) brings in three specialists to sign off on the park to calm investors. The specialists, paleontologist Alan Grant (
Sam Neill),
paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (
Laura Dern), and
chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (
Jeff Goldblum), are surprised to see that the island park's main attraction are living, breathing dinosaurs, created with a mixture of fossilized DNA and genetic cross-breeding/cloning. When lead programmer Dennis Nedry (
Wayne Knight) turns off the park's power to sneak out with samples of the dinosaur embryos to sell to a corporate rival, the dinosaurs break free, and the survivors are forced to find a way to turn the power back on and make it out alive. The film also stars
Bob Peck,
Martin Ferrero,
BD Wong,
Ariana Richards,
Joseph Mazzello, and
Samuel L. Jackson.
The Lost World is set on Isla Sorna, a secondary island where the animals were bred
en masse and allowed to grow before being transported to the park on Isla Nublar. When a vacationing family stumbles upon the island's dinosaurs, Ian Malcolm (
Jeff Goldblum) is called in by John Hammond to lead a team to document the island to turn it into a preserve, where the animals can roam free without interference from the outside world. Malcolm agrees to go when he discovers his girlfriend, paleontologist Sarah Harding (
Julianne Moore) is already on the island, while at the same time Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow (
Arliss Howard), has taken over his uncle's company and leads a team of hunters to capture the creatures and bring them back to a theme park in San Diego. The two groups clash and are ultimately forced to work together to evade the predatory creatures and survive the second island. The film also stars
Pete Postlethwaite,
Richard Schiff,
Vince Vaughn,
Vanessa Lee Chester,
Peter Stormare, and a young
Camilla Belle.
Jurassic Park III also takes place on Isla Sorna. When their son Eric (
Trevor Morgan) goes missing while parasailing, the Kirbys (
William H. Macy and
Téa Leoni) hire Alan Grant (
Sam Neill) under false pretenses to help them navigate the island. Believing it to be nothing more than sight-seeing, and that he will act as a dinosaur guide from the safety of their plane, he is startled to find them landing on the ground, where they are stalked by a
Spinosaurus, which destroys their plane. As they search for the Kirbys' son, the situation grows dire as
Velociraptors hunt their group and they must find a way off the island. The film also stars
Alessandro Nivola,
Michael Jeter,
Mark Harelik, and
Laura Dern.
Jurassic World features a new park built on the remains of the original park on Isla Nublar. The film sees the park run by Simon Masrani (
Irrfan Khan) and Masrani Corp, and features the return of Dr. Henry Wu (
BD Wong) from the first film.
Chris Pratt and
Bryce Dallas Howard star as the new leads Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, while
Vincent D'Onofrio portrayed the main antagonist Vic Hoskins. The cast also includes
Jake Johnson,
Lauren Lapkus,
Ty Simpkins,
Nick Robinson,
Omar Sy,
Brian Tee,
Katie McGrath,
Andy Buckley, and
Judy Greer. The primary dinosaur antagonist is
Indominus rex, a genetically-modified hybrid of
Tyrannosaurus rex and several other species, including
Velociraptor, cuttlefish, tree frog, and
pit viper. The Indominus Rex also features a chameleon-like camouflage ability, which was a plot element from the second Crichton novel unused in previous films. In
Fallen Kingdom, former Jurassic World manager Claire Dearing and velociraptor handler Owen Grady join a mission to relocate Isla Nublar's dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary to rescue them from a volcanic eruption. They discover that the mission is part of a scheme to sell the captured dinosaurs on the black market in order to fund his party's genetic research. The captured dinosaurs are brought to an estate in northern California, where several of the creatures are auctioned and subsequently shipped to their new owners. The
Indoraptor, a new hybrid dinosaur, escapes and rampages though the estate, terrorizing the people there, Owen and Claire among them. A subplot about
human cloning was introduced in the film.
Fallen Kingdom, similar to the second installment,
The Lost World, re-explores the themes about the aftermath of the dinosaur park's demise on Isla Nublar and dinosaurs being used for exploitation by humans.
Dominion is set four years after the events of
Fallen Kingdom, with dinosaurs now living alongside humans around the world. It follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they embark on a rescue mission, while Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler reunite with Ian Malcolm to expose a conspiracy by the genomics corporation Biosyn, a once rival of the defunct InGen.
Rebirth is set five years after the events of
Dominion, when Earth's environment has largely proven inhospitable to the remaining populations of
dinosaurs and other
de-extinct prehistoric animals. The surviving creatures now reside in remote areas of the
equatorial region,
reminiscent of the environments where they once flourished. Zora Bennett (Johansson), a
covert operative, is recruited by ParkerGenix, a
pharmaceutical company, to collaborate with
paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey) and team leader Duncan Kincaid (Ali) on a top-secret mission to infiltrate Ile Saint-Hubert, a forbidden island in the Atlantic Ocean, once used by InGen as a dinosaur research facility.
Jurassic Park (1993) published by Henry Fairfield Osborn, which was the basis of the covers of Jurassic Park
and The Lost World'', and subsequently the logos of the films Spielberg cited
King Kong as the inspiration for the film stating "My one precedent for
Jurassic Park was
King Kong.
King Kong was the high water mark for special effects creating a world I never knew existed". "And I think that was my high-water mark for imagining what it would be like to do a
King Kong of today. Certainly I don't consider
Jurassic Park a classic the way
King Kong is a classic, but I was so inspired by
King Kong that that was one of the reasons I wanted to make
Jurassic Park"." Spielberg cited
Godzilla as an inspiration for
Jurassic Park, specifically
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching. During production, Spielberg described
Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening". ''Jurassic Park's
biggest impact on subsequent films was a result of its breakthrough use of computer-generated imagery. The film is regarded as a landmark for visual effects. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the effects, though reactions to other elements of the picture, such as character development, were mixed. During its release, the film grossed more than $914 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released up to that time (surpassing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and surpassed four years later by Titanic''), and it is currently the
17th highest grossing feature film (taking inflation into account, it is the
20th-highest-grossing film in North America). It is the most financially successful film for
NBCUniversal and Steven Spielberg. Recently,
Jurassic Park has been proposed to be recognized as Intangible Geoheritage due to its cultural impact on the people's views about dinosaurs, including a change in the popular iconography of carnivorous dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park had two re-releases: The first on September 23, 2011, in the
United Kingdom and the second in which it was converted into 3D on April 5, 2013, for its 20th anniversary, which resulted in the film passing the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry by the
Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Before
The Lost World was published, a film adaptation was already in pre-production, with its release occurring in May 1997. The film was a commercial success, breaking many box-office records when released. The film was released to mixed reviews, similar to its predecessor in terms of characterization. Critical response to
The Lost World has since become more favorable, with some publications calling it the best
Jurassic Park sequel. Much like the first film,
The Lost World: Jurassic Park made a number of changes to the plot and characters from the book, replacing the corporate rivals with an internal power struggle and changing the roles or characterizations of several protagonists.
Jurassic Park III (2001) Joe Johnston had been interested in directing the sequel to
Jurassic Park and approached his friend
Steven Spielberg about the project. While Spielberg wanted to direct the first sequel, he agreed that if there was ever a third film, Johnston could direct. Spielberg, nevertheless, stayed involved in this film by becoming its executive producer. Production began on August 30, 2000, with filming in California, and the Hawaiian islands of
Kauai,
Oahu, and
Molokai. It is the first
Jurassic Park film not to be based on a novel, although it does incorporate some unused plot elements from the Crichton novels, such as the river escape and the pterosaur aviary.
Jurassic Park III had a troubled production, and received mixed reviews from critics.
Jurassic World (2015) Steven Spielberg devised a story idea for a fourth film in 2001, during production of
Jurassic Park III. In 2002,
William Monahan was hired to write the script, with the film's release scheduled for 2005. Early aspects of the plot included dinosaurs escaping to the mainland, and an army of genetically modified dinosaur-human mercenaries. Monahan finished the first draft of the script in 2003.
Sam Neill and
Richard Attenborough were set to reprise their characters, while
Keira Knightley was in talks for two separate roles. In 2004,
John Sayles wrote two drafts of the script. Sayles' first draft involved a team of
Deinonychus being trained for use in rescue missions. Both drafts were scrapped, and a new script was being worked on in 2006. Laura Dern was contacted to reprise her role, with the film expected for release in 2008. The film was further delayed by the
2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.
Mark Protosevich wrote two
film treatments in 2011, which were rejected.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes screenwriters
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were hired in 2012 to write an early draft of the script. In 2013,
Colin Trevorrow was announced as a director and co-writer, with the film scheduled for release on June 12, 2015. The film was shot in
Univisium 2.00:1.
Jurassic World received generally positive reviews. It was the first film ever to gross over $500 million worldwide in its opening weekend, and grossed over $1.6 billion through the course of its theatrical run, making it the world's
third highest-grossing film at the time. It became the
second highest-grossing film of 2015, and remains the ninth
highest-grossing film of all time. When adjusted for
monetary inflation,
Jurassic World is the highest-grossing film in the franchise.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) A sequel to
Jurassic World was released on June 22, 2018. with Trevorrow and Spielberg as executive producers. During early conversations on
Jurassic World, Spielberg told Trevorrow that he was interested in having several more films made. In April 2014, Trevorrow announced that sequels to
Jurassic World had been discussed: "We wanted to create something that would be a little bit less arbitrary and episodic, and something that could potentially arc into a series that would feel like a complete story". Trevorrow, who said he would direct the film if asked, Bayona was once considered to direct
Jurassic World, but he declined as he felt there was not enough time for production. Filming took place from February to July 2017, in the United Kingdom and Hawaii.
Fallen Kingdom grossed over $1.3 billion, making it the third
Jurassic film to pass the billion-dollar mark. It is the
third highest-grossing film of 2018, and the 22nd highest-grossing film of all time.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022) Jurassic World Dominion was released on June 10, 2022. It was directed by Trevorrow, with a screenplay written by him and
Emily Carmichael, based on a story by Trevorrow and Connolly. Trevorrow and Spielberg serve as executive producers for the film, with
Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley as producers. The film stars
Chris Pratt and
Bryce Dallas Howard, returning from the previous
Jurassic World films.
Sam Neill,
Laura Dern and
Jeff Goldblum also reprise their characters for major roles, marking the trio's first film appearance together since the original
Jurassic Park film. In addition,
Daniella Pineda,
Justice Smith, Isabella Sermon, and
Omar Sy reprise their roles from the previous two films. Other actors include
Mamoudou Athie,
DeWanda Wise,
Dichen Lachman, and
Scott Haze.
Campbell Scott portrays the character
Lewis Dodgson from the first film, originally played by
Cameron Thor. Planning for the film dates to 2014. Trevorrow said the film would focus on the dinosaurs that went
open source after being sold and spread around the world in
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, allowing people other than
Dr. Henry Wu to create their own dinosaurs. Certain scenes and ideas regarding the integration of dinosaurs into the world were ultimately removed from the
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom script to be saved for the third film. Filming locations included Canada, England's
Pinewood Studios, and the country of
Malta.
Jurassic World Dominion began filming in February 2020, Production later resumed that July, with numerous health precautions in place, including
COVID-19 testing and
social distancing. Filming wrapped four months later. It is also the second film in the franchise to feature feathered dinosaurs after feathered velociraptors in
Jurassic Park III.
Dominion grossed over $1 billion, becoming the
third highest-grossing film of 2022, and the fourth in the franchise to pass the billion-dollar mark. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. An extended version of
Jurassic World Dominion was released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 16, 2022. The extended edition received more favorable reviews and is considered an improvement over the theatrical cut.
Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) Jurassic World Dominion concluded the second film trilogy as well as the storyline that began in the original trilogy, although future films in the franchise were not ruled out. Marshall said in May 2020 that
Jurassic World Dominion would mark "the start of a new era", in which humans have to adjust to dinosaurs being on the mainland. Marshall reiterated in January 2022 that there could be more films: "We're going to sit down, and we're going to see what the future is". Trevorrow, noting that he spent nine years working on the
Jurassic World trilogy, said in May 2022 that he would likely not return for another film, except in a possible advisory role. He expressed interest in having Howard direct a future film. He also suggested that several characters introduced in
Dominion could return for future installments, including Kayla Watts (portrayed by
DeWanda Wise), Ramsay Cole (
Mamoudou Athie), and Soyona Santos (
Dichen Lachman). Pratt and Howard do not expect to reprise their roles again, and Neill said
Dominion would be the last film for Dern, Goldblum and himself. In January 2024, a new installment was revealed to be officially in development. The film was released on July 2, 2025.
David Koepp returned as screenwriter, while Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley once again serve as producers. Steven Spielberg will serve as executive producer on the project, a joint-venture production between Amblin Entertainment and Universal. Development of the project had been underway for some time prior to its announcement. The film was directed by
Gareth Edwards. It stars
Scarlett Johansson,
Mahershala Ali, and
Jonathan Bailey with
Rupert Friend,
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo,
Luna Blaise, and
David Iacono. Filming took place in
Thailand, Malta and the U.K. It received mixed reviews from critics. The film was a box office success having grossed over $869 million worldwide, becoming the
sixth highest-grossing film of 2025. ==Short films==