2017 is prehistoric as far as Universal Pictures is concerned, because their eyes are set on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's June 22, 2018 opening date. But the follow-up to the $1.67 billion-earning original is just the middle part of a planned trilogy; who knows how far this thing could ultimately go. One person who might have a good idea is Jurassic World director-writer-producer Colin Trevorrow, who's basically the architect of the new cinematic dino-topia.

In a YouTube interview, posted by Sebas Tabany (via /Film), Trevorrow laid out the central theme of his Jurassic World films, the main thrust of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and a very basic tease for the future of the franchise. And while I, personally, had high hopes for a Dino-Riders spin-off from this universe, Trevorrow pretty much dooms that idea to extinction.

First up, in case you missed the first film's message that, "Messin' about with dino DNA is bad, m'kay?", Fallen Kingdom is going to double down on that idea. As Trevorrow clarifies:

“To me it’s about greed. The first film is about how if there’s money on the table, there will be somebody who will do the worst imaginable things, or in a lot of cases, the dumbest imaginable thing in order to get that money. This film focuses a little bit more on our responsibility for these animals that we’ve made as a result of that greed, but also just the darkest and worst instincts of humans, again, when there’s money involved.”

Now here's the back-breaker for me. Soldiers will probably not be riding on the backs of dinosaurs outfitted with frickin' lasers on their heads. (The good news is that I can still write the screenplay for Dino-Riders and sell it to Universal in the future.)

“It’s important that we keep it at least grounded in a space where the dinosaurs are a parable for animals in the world today. I think that, ultimately, when people are able to watch this film and where this franchise is going, it really is about the ethical treatment of animals in the world and our responsibility to the living creatures that we share the planet with, alongside our responsibility to the planet itself. I think the riding of a T. rex by a soldier is a level of fantasy that is ... I love it and I would love to see it, I don’t know if it’s specifically this franchise, but it’s super cool.”

Here's where Trevorrow goes into "Be Careful Not to Say Too Much" territory when discussing plans for the franchise's future. The only thing he confirmed: Are there plans for a Jurassic World 3?

"Yes, absolutely ... I knew where I wanted it to go. I remember telling Steven [Spielberg] even while we were still making the first movie, “This is the beginning. Here is the middle. And here’s the end of the end. This is where we want to go. I feel like that kind of design is crucial to a franchise like this if you really want to bring people along with you and make sure they stay interested. It needs to be thought through on that level. It can’t be arbitrary, especially if we want to turn this into a character-based franchise with people who you lean in to follow what they’re going to do.

 

"At the end of this movie, it’s not a cliffhanger, but it’s designed for people who want to know what’s going to happen next, whereas the earlier Jurassic Park movies had pretty clear definitive endings. They were pretty much episodic. In working with Derek Connolly, my co-writer, we were also thinking about where it was going to go in the future.”

There you have it. You'll get Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom this summer and probably a concluding chapter (for now) in two year's time. What do you hope to see in the franchise films to come? Let us know in the comments!