A Bonkers New Trailer Asks: What If Jurassic Park Was A Vietnam War Movie?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if someone decided to make a Vietnam War movie that had dinosaurs in it? If you have, today is your lucky day. Even if you haven't, today is also your lucky day because this concept is being introduced to you in the form of the first teaser trailer for "Primitive War." This is a very real movie that is coming out this year that is based on a very real book. Check it out for yourself above and marvel at what's coming.

There's a lot to discuss here. There are lots of dinosaur movies that aren't "Jurassic Park." Everything from "The Land Before Time" to "The VelociPastor." But in the realm of blockbuster entertainment, the "Jurassic" franchise has had a stranglehold on the genre for decades. While "Primitive War" is probably closer to a mockbuster, it does look pretty darn good, even though the budget is clearly not huge. The special effects are largely impressive. The movie didn't skimp on the dinosaurs. The action set pieces look rad. In other words, this looks like it might be the best kind of bats**t crazy movie.

Directed by Luke Sparke, this one is expected to arrive sometime this summer. Perhaps not coincidentally, Universal is also releasing "Jurassic World Rebirth" in July. It's shaping up to be a dino-filled year, it seems, with two very different dinosaur movies on offer. The synopsis for "Primitive War" reads as follows:

Set in Vietnam in 1968, the Primitive War movie will follow a search and rescue team known as Vulture Squad sent to an isolated jungle valley to reveal the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. As they hunt through the primordial depths of the valley and the casualties mount, the Vulture Squad members must embrace their savage instincts to survive the horrors they face, including the ultimate Apex predators, dinosaurs.

The film is based on author Ethan Pettus' book "Primitive War: Opiate Undertow." I first wrote about the movie adaptation of "Primitive War" back in 2022 when Sparke Films secured the rights. Oftentimes, the rights will lapse and a movie won't actually get made. In this case, Sparke managed to get this one across the finish line.

"Dinosaurs in the Vietnam war? What's not to love about that concept?!" Sparke said when the project was first announced in 2022. "When I first heard about the books, I loved the ideas and concepts Ethan brought into them, and we're shaping our film version into an exciting survival-horror film."

The cast is led by the likes of Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), Tricia Helfer ("Battlestar Galactica"), Ryan Kwanten ("True Blood"), Nick Wechsler ("This is Us"), Anthony Ingruber ("Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"), Aaron Glenane ("Snowpiercer"), and Jake Ryan ("Home and Away").

Currently, it's unclear if this one is going to get a theatrical release or if it will go straight to VOD/streaming. Look, if a mockbuster like "Top Gunner: Danger Zone" got its day in theaters, surely a dinosaur movie that is also a Vietnam War movie deserves the same. Here's hoping, but we'll have to see how it shakes out in the coming months.

"Primitive War" is due to arrive later this year but no specific release date has been set. Stay tuned.