Jurᴀssic World was trapped in development hell for more than a decade – but it wasn’t for lack of trying on the studios part. It’s strange to look back now and think that the Jurᴀssic Park movie franchise took a 14-year break. This gap was partly due to Jurᴀssic Park III’s reception because, while it made money, it was critiqued for its paper-thin narrative and focus on action over character.

It would be unthinkable for a studio to let such a valuable property sit and gather dust for that long now, but the gap only heightened anticipation for Jurᴀssic World when it finally arrived. Despite the horrid reviews the most recent entry Dominion received, the series is stronger than ever, and the upcoming Jurᴀssic World: Rebirth will take the saga in a new direction. Audiences will likely never have another decade-plus gap between installments, with Jurᴀssic World’s slow arrival being due to constant script issues.

Jurᴀssic Park 4 Was Originally Planned To Begin Production In 2004

Spielberg had big plans for Jurᴀssic Park’s future

Shortly before Jurᴀssic Park III entered theaters, a fourth film was placed in development. While the threequel didn’t do much to set up another film, Universal and producer Steven Spielberg were still keen to keep the franchise moving. Writers like William Monahan and John Sayles took cracks at penning a screenplay for part four, with the sequel set to enter production in 2004 for a potential 2005 release. Of course, none of that happened, with Jurᴀssic World being pushed back constantly in the years that followed.

For a time, it felt like the series might be done, especially following the death of author Michael Crichton in 2008. Perhaps sensing audiences were underwhelmed by Jurᴀssic Park III, Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy refused to push a fourth entry forward until they found a screenplay that brought something fresh. This was wise since another sequel where a luckless group of characters gets chased around Isla Sorna just wasn’t going to cut it.

Jurᴀssic Park 4’s Development Hell & Original Ideas Explained

Dinosaurs with guns probably wasn’t the right move for Jurᴀssic Park

William Monahan worked for a while on Jurᴀssic Park 4 and came up with a concept that made Spielberg, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill very excited. Speaking with IGN back in 2002, Neill stated of this unmade sequel that “Out of all the concepts that have been created for these movies, this is possibly my favorite.” Sadly, exactly what happened in this version has never been revealed. Rumors suggest Monahan’s Jurᴀssic Park 4 may have paired Neill’s Grant and Goldblum’s Malcolm as they tried to stop the spread of dinosaurs breeding uncontrolled on a Costa Rican island.

The Dino-Human hybrid concept for Jurᴀssic Park 4 is by far the most well-known – and mocked. This radically different take was penned by Sayles and involved a mercenary named Nick, who is hired by Richard Attenborough’s Hammond to retrieve some dinosaur DNA from Isla Nublar. Through a bizarre sequence of events, Nick is then tasked with training these dino/human hybrids armed with guns for combat missions. Sayles is a master at crafting great B-movie screenplays (including Pirahna and Alligator), but after the concept was largely met with scorn, it was quickly dropped.

Jurᴀssic World Became The Movie As We Know It In 2012

Jurᴀssic Park 4 eventually found the perfect hook

The poor response to the Sayles script took the wind of Jurᴀssic Park 4’s sails for many years. Jurᴀssic Park III director Joe Johnston was attached for a time before exiting production, while I Am Legend writer Mark Protosevich tried and failed to get Spielberg excited with his take. Finally in 2012, husband and wife screenwriting team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver worked on a draft that combined many concepts from previous scripts, including the notion of a fully functioning theme park and a hybrid dinosaur that escapes and starts eating the guests.

Colin Trevorrow was later hired to direct and heavily revised the Jaffa/Silver screenplay. Jurᴀssic World was criticized for its various plot holes – and the weirdly mean-spirited death of a supporting character – but it still earned 72% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed an unbelievable $1.6 billion worldwide. This proves that despite the long development and various failed pitches, Spielberg and company were right to take their time with the sequel.

Trevorrow would go on to write Jurᴀssic World: Fallen Kingdom (which J. A. Bayona directed) before returning to helm Dominion. Audiences only had a three year wait for Jurᴀssic World: Rebirth, where Gareth Edwards (Godzilla 2014) takes over as director and Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali are the new leads. Universal is no doubt hopeful Rebirth will lead to a new trilogy, but after the disappointment of Dominion, it will hopefully bring something new to the franchise.

Source: IGN, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo