The Best Scene in the Jurassic World Trilogy Might Not Have Even Been in Any of the Movies

The Jurassic World franchise has steadily delivered billion-dollar hits since 2015, but none of the entries in the series have been particularly memorable. Honestly, the Jurassic titles have struggled to make a real mark on fans since Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park more than 30 years ago. There is one surprising element of Jurassic World that did resonate with fans and has remained impossible to forget since it was released, though it wasn’t actually part of any of the theatrical films.

If you’re a fan of the dinosaur blockbusters, you probably already know that this is about Battle at Big Rock. The 2018 short film is just 10 minutes long, but it’s easily the best movie of Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic era.

Battle at Big Rock first aired on FX back in 2019, about a year after the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. If you recall, that movie ended with a bunch of dinosaurs being released out into the modern world, finally making good on the Jurassic World title and showing the horrors that came with dinosaurs interacting with our everyday lives. Battle at Big Rock basically bridged the gap between Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World Dominion, offering fans their first glimpse at what kind of things could happen once the dinos got loose.

The film, directed by Trevorrow, is set in an RV park at the fictional Big Rock National Park and follows a family on a camping trip. Their vacation is interrupted by the arrival of another family: a group of Nasutoceratops trying to find a place to live. Those peaceful dinosaurs are interrupted by a viscous Allosaurus, who ultimately attacks both the dinosaurs and the people at the park.

This short film is just a brief glimpse into the potential of the Jurassic World the franchise was trying to set up. It’s a perfect little moment in the lives of some great characters, bringing to the screen both the horrors and the entertainment that helped the original Jurassic Park stand the test of time. It’s a gritty little tale that offered fans a lot of hope about the franchise’s future.

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And instead of a genuine follow-through on that wonderful tease, we got Jurassic World Dominion, a movie more concerned with locusts and unearned nostalgia than any semblance of dinosaur thrills.

The suspense and excitement we saw in Battle at Big Rock marked the high points for both in the ongoing Jurassic World franchise, which is hoping to get back on track with a new filmmaker at the helm. Gareth Edwards, the director behind Godzilla and Rogue One, has brought his eye to the series with the upcoming Jurassic World: Rebirth. He has spoken on record numerous times about his desire to take the Jurassic films back to basics, following what Spielberg actually did with Jurassic Park, rather than just incorporating those characters.

Whether he realizes it or not, Trevorrow got back to those very basics during his tenure in charge of the Jurassic World saga. Unfortunately for all of us, he only did that for a 10-minute short film that aired on FX, not for massive blockbuster films that were sent to theaters.

Well, regardless of what happens next, we’ll always have Big Rock.