In the immortal words of Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Nowhere is that saying more applicable than the universe of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies (both are now streaming on Peacock), where humans continually underestimate the awesome fury of Mother Nature. We don’t know what it’s like to be at the bottom of the food chain until we’re sliding down the gullet of a Quetzalcoatlus or being bitten in half by a mutant abomination of our own making.
Jurassic World Rebirth (now playing in theaters; click here for tickets) continues to prove Ian Malcolm was right and then some. No matter how much we plan or put stock in our alleged supremacy over the planet, the cruel mistress of entropy (i.e. chaos) will always be there to serve up a heaping slice of humble pie.
It may not be the exact same outcome as before, but like Twain said, it’ll sure as hell feel familiar. Take this first-look clip, for instance. Ed Skrein’s character, Bobby Atwater, is yanked off a boat by a water-dwelling Spinosaurus and his desperate attempt at keeping himself alive recalls the unfortunate Jurassic Park worker killed during the Raptor transferance at the very start of the ’93 film.
With that in mind, let’s take a look back at how Rebirth connects to the one that started it all — Jurassic Park.
All the ways Jurassic World Rebirth connects back to Jurassic Park
Return of the Koepp
Jurassic World Rebirth was written by longtime Spielberg collaborator David Koepp, screenwriter on Jurassic Park and its 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. While Steven Spielberg hasn’t directed an entry since The Lost World, he has executive-produced every sequel since — and Rebirth is no exception.
Different island, same company
The tropical island on which the bulk of the story takes place is Ile Saint-Hubert, which once served as an R&D facility for InGen (the company founded by John Hammond), which ill-advisedly began splicing together different species of dinosaurs to keep the public enthralled. Much like its sister facilities on Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna (aka Site B), the Ile Saint-Hubert complex was once a thriving testament to scientific hubris and overly cautious security measures, the latter of which included the trusty electrified fences charged with 10,000 volts.
Chaos Theory (now with nougat)
Ian Malcolm is proved correct once again in Jurassic World Rebirth‘s opening prologue, during which an errant Snickers wrapper leads to a major breach in security, allowing the Distortus Rex (a truly horrifying mutant creature inspired by Alien‘s Xenmorph and Star Wars‘ Rancor) to escape containment and forcing an immediate evacuation of the facility nearly two decades prior.
Mirror image
After the D-Rex gets its first taste of human flesh, we jump into the modern day, where sleazy big pharma rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) finds himself in a classic New York City traffic jam, though in this case, the backup is due to one of the last-remaining dinosaurs in North America. Curious to see what the fuss is about, Krebs rolls down his window of his car, revealing those famous words on his sideview mirror: “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”
Crichton consecration
As Krebs and Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) drive through the Manhattan traffic, they pass a school bus emblazoned with the words “Crichton Middle School,” a nod to late Jurassic Park author, Michael Crichton.
Jeep jubilee
There’s plenty of product placement in Jurassic World Rebirth, though the most synergistic might be a Manhattan billboard for Jeep, which, of course, was the vehicle of choice for the park tour in the original movie.
When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth
When Zora and Krebs go to recruit Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) for their expedition, they find the paleontologist in the middle of packing up a dinosaur-themed museum that’s gone belly up due to poor attendance. The iconic banner proclaiming “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” hangs above a T. rex skeleton, but the head is conspicuously missing, a connotation that the institution has essentially been decapitated, both culturally and financially.
Dinosaur cameos
While Rebirth presents a number of new species to the franchise, it also delivers a parade of some of the most iconic dinosaurs from the ’93 original — namely Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, and Dilophosaurus. In this case, however, only the T. rex gets a substantial role while the other two are relegated to cameo appearances.
Kids in danger
It wouldn’t be a Jurassic movie without children in mortal peril, right? The role of young people on the verge of getting eaten by giant, prehistoric lizards is filled by Teresa and Isabella Delgado (played by Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda), who are shipwrecked on the island alongside their father, Rueben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono). Once in the jungle, Isabella dons a yellow rain slicker that is meant to be a direct homage to Wayne Knight’s corporate thief, Dennis Nedry. In another instance, we see the two daughters resting their sleeping heads against their father’s shoulder, much in the same way Tim and Lex do with Alan Grant.
Studying under Alan Grant
As Dr. Loomis mentions while wading through a jungle swamp, he studied under the great Alan Grant for his post-doc and has been on paleontological digs since he was 12-years-old, giving further credence to the fan theory that he was the “Six-foot turkey” kid who maligned the Velociraptor all those years ago. In any case, Loomis shows the same childlike glee as his teacher when the expedition crew enters a valley filled with the long-necked Titanosaurus. John Williams’ iconic theme begins to play as Loomis reaches out and touches one of the animals’ massive legs, recalling Grant’s reactions to seeing the Brachiosaur and Triceratops for the very first time.
Not-so-lazy river
The sequence in which Xavier and the Delgado family are pursued by a hungry T. rex as they float down churning rapids in a rubber raft is taken directly from Crichton’s novel (Koepp had been wanting to see it adapted onscreen for the longest time). It also calls back to the T. rex escape in the ’93 movie — particularly the image of Tim and Lex trapped under the Jeep’s sunroof glass — when Isabella gets caught under the raft and the beast attempts to chomp through the yellow material, not quite sure of what it is.
A kitchen by any other name
Near the end of the film, the Delgado crew links back up with Zora’s team at a gas station that once served as a fuel-up hub for the island’s longtime staff. The group is forced to split up again, however, following the appearance of Mutadons, which are basically raptors crossed with pterodactyls. Xavier and the Delgados try to barricade themselves inside the gas station’s convenience store, only to find themselves in a deadly cat and mouse game, trying to evade one of the winged hybrids in a snack aisle-based homage to Jurassic Park‘s iconic kitchen sequence.
Isabella to the rescue
When the adults fail, it’s the children who ultimately come to the rescue. Like Lex rebooting the Jurassic Park security systems, Isabella ends up saving the day when she’s able to slip through some bars, open a gate, and save the other characters from an advancing Mutadon.
Eaten on the dock of the bay
Like Nedry before him, Krebs makes a break for the docks with precious genetic cargo. He does make it to the water’s edge, but like Nedry, meets a gruesome end at the jaws of the Distortus Rex, which literally tears him apart. The only piece left of the greedy scumbag is a severed arm in a torn shirtsleeve, the same remnant the Raptors left of Sam Jackson’s Mr. Arnold in the ’93 film.
Flare tactics
When children are in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur, there’s only one thing to do: ignite a red flare and draw the beast’s attention onto yourself. Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) does just that in the film’s climax as a way to distract the D-Rex from Zora, Loomis, and the Delgado crew. He couldn’t save his own son from dying, but this is a way to make up for it. Thankfully, his noble sacrifice doesn’t end with him getting eaten.
Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing exclusively in theaters nationwide. Click here to chomp down on some tickets! If you’d like to catch up on the saga so far, the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies are now streaming on Peacock.
