Jurᴀssic World Rebirth is almost certainly going to get a sequel, but it’s unclear just what Jurᴀssic World 5’s story could be. The movie has – in keeping with the franchise’s form – been a box office hit, grossing over $400 million worldwide in just two weekends.
Heading into the latest entry, Jurᴀssic Park and World movies averaged around $1 billion at the box office; when Rebirth finishes its run, there’s a good chance that will still hold true. And for as long as dinosaurs rule the movie-going world, Universal will keep making more of them.
Since the franchise rebooted, there have been 3-4 years between installments, and so Jurᴀssic World 5 hitting in summer 2028 wouldn’t be a surprise at all. However, while Jurᴀssic World Rebirth’s ending does change the franchise, it doesn’t make a sequel easy.
Dinosaurs Dying Out Complicates Jurᴀssic World 5’s Story
Rebirth Doesn’t Fully Set Up A Sequel
Taking place five years after Jurᴀssic World Dominion, Rebirth effectively chooses not to follow on too much from that story. Whereas Dominion left a world where dinosaurs and humans may have to co-exist, the former are now dying out, and the latter no longer care about them.
Dinosaurs only surviving near the equator helps drive Rebirth’s story, but it makes things complicated for a fifth Jurᴀssic World – and eighth Jurᴀssic Park – movie. It’s a choice that severely limits its options, since it negates the “dinos in the real world” setup that still hasn’t been explored to its full potential.
Colin Trevorrow’s short film Jurᴀssic World: Battle at Big Rock remains the best use of that idea, but it seems a shame to not do it properly on the big screen.
Director Gareth Edwards told Screen Rant‘s Liam Crowley a Rebirth sequel is “in the lap of the Gods,” while confirming they made the movie as a standalone.
Of course, the dinosaur DNA would factor into any Rebirth sequel. It could be a game-changing twist for humanity in-universe, but what does it drive in terms of an exciting dino story? Unless it leads to a sudden revival in interest in dinosaurs and, perhaps, even a means of helping save the ones remaining, then Jurᴀssic World 5 may have to find another reason to go back to the (or an) island.
Maybe open sourcing could lead to a push to find other types of dinosaur DNA. Perhaps one of the pharmaceutical companies will find another, more dangerous use that weaponizes it, intentionally or otherwise. The franchise could finally use the dinosaur-human hybrid idea that’s existed since before Jurᴀssic World (please, Universal, don’t do this, and no more mutant hybrids in general).
In a sense, this is simply the nature of the franchise. Very few of these movies have directly set up a sequel – Jurᴀssic World: Fallen Kingdom into Dominion is an exception, and they largely ignored it for… locusts. But it matters not: Jurᴀssic finds a way.
“…So long as it can offer enough big dinosaur thrills, with a sense of wonder and awe ideally mixed with horror and suspense, it’ll be a mᴀssive box office draw.”
It’s a problem that has contributed to so many of the franchise’s films having poor reviews, but so long as it can offer enough big dinosaur thrills, with a sense of wonder and awe ideally mixed with horror and suspense, it’ll be a mᴀssive box office draw. That was true of Jurᴀssic World Rebirth, and it’ll be true of Jurᴀssic World 5.
