To quote the end of the teaser trailer, the Camp is Open!
Today the long-awaited teaser trailer for the Netflix series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous has dropped – providing us with an exciting look at the latest piece of Jurassic media to arrive on our screens, and I have to admit – I am excited!
The trailer is only 59 seconds in length (and includes several titles), but the moments which we do get here look genuinely fantastic and really embody the best of Jurassic as we know it. The trailer opens with broad, establishing shots of Isla Nublar – not too dis-similar to some of its movie counterparts – and then introduces us to a wonderfully composed sequence of a helicopter arriving before a red Mercedes G63 6x6 (the same vehicle used by the ACU in Jurassic World) can be seen driving the kids into the Camp – through the iconic park gates we have seen in previous marketing material.
All of this is a beautifully fitting throwback to the original 1993 Jurassic Park. Everything from the red colour scheme on the vehicle and the gates, to the Helicopter flyover, and the beautiful John Williams score, is designed to take us back to those original moments and re-live those emotions once more. This is a very well compiled sequence in my opinion – and is one which perfectly encapsulates ‘classic Jurassic’ in just a few short moments.
We also get our first look at the setup for the Camp, too – which has opted for a treetop-style aesthetic we saw hinted at in the Mattel figure packaging we have seen in recent months. The park appears to embrace a retro-style treehouse aesthetic here – and it does intrigue me. Could this be near the Brachiosaurus Tree-Top exhibit? It would certainly make sense, and would add a nice layer of added lore to the pre-established world around the franchise. We then get a short sequence of the kids enjoying a zipline ride which takes them past a Brachiosaurus, before we are introduced to one of the Antagonists for this series – the Indominus Rex.
The Indominus looks great in its animated form here – and can be seen first at the Zipline area, and then chasing the children through the woods. In a great call-back to Jurassic World, we also hear ‘Asset out of Containment’ over a radio before Pterandons swoop in – presumably suggesting that this sequence with the Indominus is taking place after she has already destroyed the Aviary and killed Simon Masrani. This poses an interesting question about the timeline of events in this series, as it suggests that we will be seeing events between the Aviary Sequence and the eventual Mainstreet Showdown, and has me excited to see the other areas the Indominus attacks during its rampage. Could we potentially see a nod to the Live Tour here?
Gyrospheres also make a comeback in the trailer and we see a Sinoceratops – a nice nod to the herbivore which wasn’t featured in Jurassic World, but was featured in its sequel. This is a nice way of re-iterating that these dinosaurs were on the island for the entirety of the two films – we just didn’t get to see them in Jurassic World! We also see a sequence with the kids running from a Carnotaurus in a poorly lit underground area – presumably Toro? It would be interesting to see if this series allows us to explore more of the bunkers seen in Fallen Kingdom, or perhaps even more of the Geothermal Plant on Nublar, since it is hinted that we may see more of the old Jurassic Park structures in this series.
We end with a shot of one of the kids in the Velociraptor paddock with the Raptor Squad before we cut to a few fast-paced shots of a Pteranodon attack, the kids in a raft on the Mosasaur lagoon, and then the Mosasaur attacking the kids at the very end. It is safe to say that the series looks to be packed full of interesting and engaging action set pieces which features ALL of our favourite dinosaurs from Jurassic World – and hopefully many more inbetween.
I think the biggest question here will be where the show fits within the canonical timeline of the film. We see a LOT of events unfolding across a very short period of time here – including extensive periods of time with the Indominus – so I am intrigued to see how this will all fit together. The show has been confirmed to be canon, and will release eight episodes on September the 18th.
What do you think? Are you excited? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below!
Written by:
Tom Fishenden