'Jurassic World 2' Will Have A Political Element

The Jurassic Park movies may be pure fiction, but it's not hard to see how its lessons might apply to real life. In between delighting us with scenes of people running from dinosaurs and scenes of dinosaurs eating people, the films preach caution against scientific advancement without concern for consequences, as well as the thoughtless exploitation of animals. And according to Jurassic World 2 director J.A. Bayona, his movie will carry on in a similar vein, with a political element cutting through the adventure.

Coming Soon asked Bayona whether his film would continue the "pseudo-political subtext" of the franchise. Here's his response:

Yeah, you're right. I think there's a lot of that in the new 'Jurassic.' I think there's a lot of possessiveness towards our creations. I think it's very interesting where the new movie is heading. It's so different from the other films, it talks a lot about the moment we live in right now. It's darker... but at the same time it's going to be a lot of fun. It's a blockbuster, you have Chris Pratt, it's a great adventure, but it's very interesting the way the film is darker than the other ones.

There's an argument to be made that all art is political, since all art involves making some decisions about what stories are worth focusing on and what lessons the audience should take away from them. But not all art bills itself as overtly political, so it is interesting to see that Bayona isn't shying away from that subtext.

Then again, if you've been paying attention to the development of this film, his comments probably won't come as much of a surprise. Writer/producer Colin Trevorrow has previously suggested Jurassic World 2 will see dino breeding go open source, so maybe we'll see some commentary on modern business and innovation. In addition, he's described the story as one about animal abuse. "The dinosaurs will be a parable of the treatment animals receive today: the abuse, medical experimentation, pets, having wild animals in zoos like prisons, the use the military has made of them, animals as weapons," he said.

But don't worry — there'll still be plenty of exciting dino action to be had with all that political subtext. Trevorrow has described the film as "more suspenseful" than the last film, and Bayona has made the inevitable Empire Strikes Back comparison. "It will be darker and scarier than the previous film," he said. "It is a second step in a trilogy, and the second step is always dark as in The Empire Strikes Back or the Wrath of Khan, which are the examples you always get."

Jurassic World 2 is in theaters June 22, 2018.