‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’: Steven Spielberg Supported the Controversial Twist

In 1993’s Jurassic Park, humans were subjected to the horrors of dinosaurs that were brought back to life through the advancements of genetic cloning. Each subsequent sequel offered audiences essentially the same structure, as the dinosaurs and their primal hunting abilities terrorized new victims. The latest chapter in the saga, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, offered audiences an unexpected twist, which could alter the course of the saga and was supported by original Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The film introduced the character of Benjamin Lockwood who was John Hammond’s partner in the early days of developing the park. The two suffered a falling out when Lockwood pushed to use the cloning technology not just on dinosaurs, but also on humans.

Throughout the film, audiences saw the young girl Maisie who Lockwood referred to as his granddaughter, only for the story to reveal she was actually a clone of his actual daughter who had died unexpectedly. This marked the first time the series expanded the fictional scientific research into larger sci-fi themes.

“[Spielberg] really dug the Maisie element of it. He dug the way that we were evolving it, and he was really excited about the questions that it leaves at the end as far as where the future could go,” co-writer Colin Trevorrow shared with Empire. “I see it as an evolution of the themes that [Jurassic Park author Michael] Crichton laid out. It’s so much closer in our world than making dinosaurs is.”

The events of the film saw the death of Lockwood and virtually anyone that Maisie was close to, leading Chris Pratt’s Owen and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire to, at least briefly, offer the girl a home. This helped pay off what Trevorrow, who directed the previous film, had previously introduced.

“To me, it’s a family creation myth. Owen and Claire start off the first movie as these sexually-charged Hepburn and Tracy characters, and in the second film they’re taking on much more responsibility as adults, and by the end they’re parents – they have this child, and they’re driving off into an uncertain future,” the filmmaker noted. “And that moment when Malcolm is saying irrevocable change, that is happening to them and it’s happening right now. I just found that very effective to put that in the context of these people who are evolving in a big way over the course of this story.”

If human cloning wasn’t a big enough twist, the film ended with groups of dinosaurs evading capture and obtaining freedom, likely placing Jurassic World 3 in a position to explore a variety of all-new elements.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is in theaters now. Jurassic World 3 will land in theaters on June 11, 2021.

What did you think about this twist in the latest film? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Empire]