The Jurassic Park franchise has painted itself into a narrative corner, and it’s time for the filmmakers to embrace a more ambitious vision. While I haven’t kept up with the recent installments, my understanding is that the series has established dinosaurs as a permanent fixture in the modern world, particularly in equatorial regions. This premise opens up fascinating storytelling possibilities that the franchise has barely begun to explore.
Instead of retreating to yet another remote island with another failed genetic experiment, why not examine how contemporary society would actually adapt to living alongside apex predators? The real dramatic potential lies not in isolated disaster scenarios, but in the mundane reality of coexistence with creatures that were never meant to share our world.
Imagine following the daily lives of people in São Paulo or Lagos, where a Tyrannosaurus Rex roaming the outskirts isn’t a shocking plot twist—it’s Tuesday. How do children walk to school when velociraptors might be hunting in the nearby favelas? What happens to agriculture when herbivorous dinosaurs migrate through farming regions? How do emergency services adapt their protocols when every call could involve a creature that’s been extinct for 65 million years?
These questions offer rich material for human drama that goes far beyond the franchise’s current formula of “scientists make bad decisions, dinosaurs escape, chaos ensues.” The most compelling aspect of the Jurassic concept was never the spectacle of the dinosaurs themselves—it was the exploration of humanity’s relationship with forces beyond our control.
By focusing on integrated coexistence rather than isolated incidents, the franchise could explore themes of environmental adaptation, social inequality, and technological innovation in genuinely meaningful ways. How do wealthy neighborhoods afford anti-dinosaur barriers while poor communities remain vulnerable? What new industries emerge around dinosaur management? How do governments regulate creatures that don’t recognize borders?
The island-based approach has exhausted its creative possibilities. The franchise needs to embrace the logical conclusion of its own premise: dinosaurs aren’t just park attractions that occasionally escape—they’re a permanent part of our world now. The most interesting stories lie not in running from that reality, but in learning to live with it.
