Pre-History: What Has Happened in the Jurassic World Story So Far

Dinosaurs return to the big screen on June 12th in the new film Jurassic World, which is the fourth installment of the popular film franchise. This is the first “Jurassic” film in fourteen years and it takes place twenty years after the events of the original with all new characters. But do you remember what happened in the previous three movies?

Based on the book of the same name by author Michael Crichton, Steven Spielberg directed the original Jurassic Park, which was released in 1993 and starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sir Richard Attenborough. Spielberg returned for the 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park, along with Attenborough, and Goldblum, who headlined the movie. Julianne Moore and Vince Vaughn were also added to the cast. Spielberg sat out 2001’s Jurassic Park III, having Joe Johnston take over directing duties. Neill returned, as did Dern in a minor role, along with new cast members William H. Macy and Tea Leoni.

Colin Trevorrow directed the latest installment of the franchise, which stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Vincent D’Onofrio. Before you go see the new film, study up on the full Jurassic World story with our handy guide below.

Jurassic Park

John Hammond (Sir Richard Attenborough) is the CEO of a bioengineering company called InGen, which has discovered a way to clone dinosaurs. The cloning process involves extracting the DNA of dinosaurs from mosquito fossils and combining it with frog DNA. However, they only cloned female dinosaurs in order to control population. Hammond decides to create an amusement park filled with the cloned dinosaurs called Jurassic Park, which is located on the tropical island of Isla Nublar.

When a park worker is killed by one of the dinosaurs, Hammond invites several experts to the island to certify that the park is safe. Those experts include mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). Hammond’s grandchildren, Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim Murphy (Joseph Mazzello), also arrive on the island to accompany the rest of the guests on their tour of the park.

 

During their tour, a tropical storm hits the island. The park’s security systems fail because of Dennis Nedry, the architect of the computer systems who is trying to steal dinosaur embryos. When a Tyrannosaurus rex attacks the tour group, Grant, Lex, and Tim barely escape while Malcolm is left injured. Unfortunately, in addition to releasing the Tyrannosaurus rex, the security shutdown has also released the Velociraptors.

While running from the raptors, Grant realizes that the dinosaurs are breeding because they were created with the DNA of West African Bullfrogs, which can change sex in a single-sex surrounding. After Grant, Tim and Lex make it to the visitor center, Grant leaves the children to find Sattler. The kids narrowly survive a raptor attack before they are reunited with the adults. They then escape to a control room and a Velociraptor follows, and it even figures out how to open the door.

Eventually, Lex restores power to the facility, and the group calls for help. On their way out, they are again cornered by the raptors but surprisingly saved by the Tyrannosaurus rex. Once outside, Hammond and Malcolm arrive in a jeep and they all ride to safety. Finally, before they board the helicopter, Grant tells Hammond that he will not be endorsing the park, and Hammond agrees with his choice.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Dinosaurs attack a family vacationing on the island of Isla Sorna, four years after the events of Jurassic Park. The incident allows John Hammond’s nephew, Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), to take control on InGen. Hammond then contacts Ian Malcolm, who has no interest in cloned dinosaurs or his failed theme park.

 

Hammond explains to Malcolm that Isla Sorna was also known as “Site B,” the actual island where the dinosaurs were cloned before they were moved to Isla Nublar. After the park was closed, a storm destroyed Isla Sorna’s containment facilities, and the dinosaurs have been running free on the island ever since. Hammond wants Malcolm to lead a team to go to the island and observe the creatures in their natural habitat, hoping that positive public support will stop his nephew from making the same mistake he did and exploiting the creatures. Malcolm wants nothing to do with Hammond’s request until he learns that his girlfriend, paleontologist Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), is already part of the team on the island.

Along with engineer Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff) and video documentarian Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn), Malcolm arrives on the island and finds Sarah. Malcolm also discovers that his daughter Kelly (Vanessa Lee Chester) stowed away on his plane and is now on the island with them. Malcolm wants to leave and take Kelly home, but Ludlow and a team of InGen mercenaries soon arrive. Ludlow’s team is assigned to hunt and capture the dinosaurs in order to bring them to San Diego to be the main attraction at a new theme park. After learning of Lulow’s agenda, Nick and Sarah free the caged dinosaurs.

 

Nick also freed an infant T. rex and takes it to their camp so that Sarah can mend its broken leg. At the same time, Malcolm, Kelly, and Eddie secure themselves in a trailer built above the trees. Afraid that the infant T. rex’s parents might be looking for it, Malcolm tries to warn Sarah and Nick. Once he arrives, two adult Tyrannosauruses appear and threaten them. They release the baby T. rex, but the adult Tyrannosaurus attacks the trailer, pushing it over the edge of a nearby cliff with Sarah and Nick trapped inside. They survive and are rescued by the InGen team. With all communications equipment and transportation destroyed in the attacks, the two groups team-up and begin walking towards the old radio station.

After following the scent of their infant’s blood, the two Tyrannosauruses find the group. InGen is able to capture the male T. rex, but the female chases Nick, Sarah, and Kelly. After escaping and reuniting with Malcolm, the four head to the compound and use the communications room to call for help. A helicopter finally arrives and takes them off the island, but they can see InGen preparing the unconscious male Tyrannosaurus for transport.

 

Instead of arriving safely, the freighter carying the T. rex suddenly crashes into a dock in San Diego, and Ludlow eventually discovers that the crew had been killed by the dinosaur. The T. rex escapes into the city and begins to destroy everything in its path. Assuming the creature is probably just searching for its child, Malcolm and Sarah find out that the baby T. rex was captured and is being kept in an InGen building. They try to retrieve the baby and use it as bait to lure the adult T. rex back to the boat. Ludlow tries to stop them but is killed by the young T. rex. Sarah and Malcolm eventually tranquilize the adult dinosaur.

Malcolm, Sarah and Kelly watch on television as the ship carrying the adult and infant T. rex is escorted back to Isla Sorna. John Hammond explains in an interview on TV that the American and Costa Rican governments have agreed to declare the island a nature preserve. He concludes the interview by saying “life will find a way,” paraphrasing what Malcolm said to him in the first film.

Jurassic Park III

Tourists Ben Hildebrand (Mark Harelik) and Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) attempt to parasail around the island of Isla Sorna, while an unknown dinosaur attacks and kills their boat crew. Since the events of ‘Jurassic Park,’ Dr. Alan Grant has become reluctantly famous but is still struggling to raise money for his research. He is no longer in a relationship with Ellie Sattler, but they are still friends and colleagues.

Paul (William H. Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Tea Leoni) offer Grant funding for his research if he will give them an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Reluctantly Grant agrees and flies to the island with his assistant Billy (Alessandro Nivola), Paul, Amanda, and their mercenary team. On the plane, Grant finds out that they are planning to land on the island, which is not what he agreed to. Grant is then knocked unconscious by one of the mercenaries, only to awaken on the island. A Spinosaurus soon attacks the group, devouring the plane and the mercenary team. The survivors lose the dinosaur when it gets caught in the trees. As they run to safety, a Tyrannosaurus appears just as the Spinosaurus returns, but the humans escape when the two dinosaurs fight each other and the Spinosaurus kills the T-Rex.

Grant eventually finds out that the Kirbys are actually a divorced couple looking for their lost son after he disappeared near Isla Sorna. But once they find Ben’s dead body, Grant begins to doubt that Eric is still alive. The group finds an old InGen compound, and a Velociraptor attacks Amanda. Grant then watches as the raptor signals to the rest of his pack to chase the group. During the chase, Grant becomes separated from the others after grabbing Billy’s fallen satchel. The rest of the group makes it to safety in the trees, but discover the raptors were setting a trap for them. Grant believes the raptors are looking for something when he sees the male and a female raptor communicating. He is cornered but then rescued by Eric, who has managed to survive in an overturned truck.

Grant eventually realizes that Billy has taken two eggs from the raptor’s nest hoping it will fund Grant’s next dig, and that is why the raptors attacked them. Grant contemplates getting rid of them, but changes his my mind because if the raptors find them without the eggs, they will be killed. The survivors make their way down river by boat. Having lost their satellite phone when the Spinosaurus ate the mercenary team, the group retrieves it from the feces of the creature. However, the Spinosaurus has once again silently stalked them down river, and begins attacking the boat as Grant tries to call Sattler. He only has time to say, “The River. Site B,” before the call is lost. Grant and Paul light the boat’s fuel on fire, and the Spinosaurus retreats.

As the group starts to leave, the raptors once again surround them. Grant manages to temporarily confuse them, and Amanda gives them back the stolen eggs before the sound of oncoming helicopters scare off the raptors. When they reach the beach, Grant discovers that Sattler had called in the Marine Corps and the Navy to save them. In reference to the dinosaurs, Grant finally admits that “It’s time for them to find their place in the world again.”

Jurassic World

Not everything has been revealed about the plot of the new film, but here’s the Jurassic World story as we know so far:

The film takes place twenty-two years after the original ‘Jurassic Park,’ and Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park called Jurassic World. While John Hammond originally imagined the park, the Masrani Corporation now owns it. Chris Pratt stars as Owen Grady, a member of the park’s on-site staff and a trainer of a group of Velociraptors.

The Masrani Corporation decides to create a hybrid dinosaur known as Indominus rex (created from the DNA of Giganotosaurus, Rugops, Majungasaurus, and Carnotaurus) to be its latest attraction. Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins), the park’s operations manager Claire Dearing’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) nephews, are visiting the park when the hybrid escapes. The two young boys are quickly trapped in the monster’s path of destruction, while Owen and the security team try to contain the dinosaur before it can cause more havoc to the island and the park’s patrons.

Jurassic World begins devouring theaters on Friday, June 12.