"Jurassic World" proved to be a big success back in 2015, serving as both a soft reboot of the franchise while still a sequel to previous films. Director J.A. Bayona now addresses how "Jurassic World 2" will balance being both a sequel to the previous film and the fifth entry in a long-running franchise.
"I think somehow it's both. It's a very good question, and what we're doing is a sequel to 'Jurassic World,' but it's definitely the fifth chapter of a longer saga. It's very interesting," he told Cinema Blend. "And I think the story is looking for a connection between 'Jurassic World' and 'Jurassic Park' - more than what 'Jurassic World' did," he went on to say.
According to Cinema Blend, this could hint that "Jurassic World 2" is going to have even more ties to the original Steven Spielberg film.
While "Jurassic World" did revisit some of the old places from the original film, it is possible that the sequel will also be bringing back original characters like Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) or Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill). There are also speculations that "Jurassic World 2" will further involve Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong).
Bayona did not confirm if Wong was returning to reprise his role. However, given that Dr. Wu was seen escaping the island and possibly selling the dinosaur embryos to militant groups and other corporations, it is heavily hinted that he will still play a large role in the next movie.
The director also confirmed that the second film would be setting up the events for the third "Jurassic World" movie, indicating that "Jurassic World 2" will expand the cinematic universe and introduce several characters that may not have a large role until "Jurassic World 3" comes around.
In a separate report from Coming Soon, Bayona also confirmed that production will begin in March 2017. The director did state that a title for "Jurassic World 2" is already decided, but he did not share it.
"Jurassic World 2" is slated to premiere on June 22, 2018.
