Honestly, if you grew up in the 90s, you probably remember exactly where you were when that T. rex first stepped out into the rain. It wasn't just a movie moment. It was a "holy crap, dinosaurs are real" moment. But since 1993, the Jurassic Park movies have morphed from a tight sci-fi thriller into a massive, sometimes messy, multi-billion dollar empire.
We’ve had six films so far, with a seventh, Jurassic World Rebirth, having just hit theaters last year in 2025. People love to argue about them. Is the third one actually good? Why did the dinosaurs in Dominion look so different? Are we ever going to see a feathered raptor that actually looks like a bird?
Let’s get into the weeds of this franchise.
The Original Trilogy: Where It All Started
The first Jurassic Park (1993) is basically untouchable. Steven Spielberg took Michael Crichton’s techno-thriller and turned it into a masterclass of suspense. You’ve got the practical effects from Stan Winston and the groundbreaking CGI from Industrial Light & Magic. It’s a miracle it looks as good as it does today. Seriously, go watch it in 4K—the T. rex breakout scene still puts modern blockbusters to shame.
Then came The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. It’s darker. It’s meaner. It has a T. rex loose in San Diego, which sounds cheesy but is actually kind of awesome in a "B-movie with a massive budget" way. Critics weren't as kind to this one, but it expanded the lore by showing Isla Sorna (Site B), the place where the dinosaurs were actually grown before being shipped to the main park.
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And then there's Jurassic Park III (2001).
Two words: Talking raptor.
Okay, it was a dream sequence, but still. This movie is the "black sheep" for a lot of fans. It’s short—only about 90 minutes—and it replaced the T. rex with the Spinosaurus as the main villain. People were furious when the Spino snapped the Rex's neck. But if you view it as a straightforward survival flick, it's actually pretty fun. It’s got William H. Macy and Tea Leoni playing a divorced couple looking for their kid, and honestly, the Pteranodon birdcage sequence is one of the best set pieces in the whole series.
The Jurassic World Era: Bigger, Louder, More Teeth
After a 14-year hiatus, the franchise came roaring back in 2015 with Jurassic World. It basically asked: "What if the park actually worked?" For a while, it did. We got Chris Pratt training raptors like they were hunting dogs and a giant hybrid called the Indominus Rex. It was a massive hit, grossing over $1.6 billion. It tapped into that nostalgia but also poked fun at our need for "bigger and better" entertainment.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) took a weird turn. The first half is a disaster movie with a volcano exploding, and the second half is a gothic horror movie inside a mansion. It’s a polarizing film. Some people loved the dark vibes from director J.A. Bayona, while others thought the "human cloning" subplot with Maisie Lockwood was a bridge too far.
Then we got Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.
This was supposed to be the "Endgame" of the series. It brought back the original trio—Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum—to team up with the new cast. Curiously, the plot wasn't really about dinosaurs taking over the world; it was mostly about giant locusts. It was a bit of a letdown for fans who wanted a "dinosaurs in the suburbs" movie, though it did finally introduce some feathered species like the Pyroraptor.
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The 2025 Shift: Jurassic World Rebirth
By the time Jurassic World Rebirth came out in July 2025, the franchise needed a reset. Directed by Gareth Edwards (the guy who did Rogue One and Godzilla), this film stripped things back. No more Chris Pratt. No more legacy cameos for the sake of it. Instead, we got Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali in a story set five years after Dominion.
The world has changed. Dinosaurs aren't everywhere anymore; they’ve mostly retreated to equatorial regions that match their original climate. It feels more like the 1993 original—isolated, scary, and focused on the ethics of big pharma using dinosaur DNA for "miracle drugs." It’s currently sitting as one of the top-grossing films of the last year, proving people aren't tired of dinosaurs; they're just tired of the same old formula.
What Everyone Gets Wrong About the Science
We need to talk about the "Accurate Dinosaur" debate.
Paleontologists have been screaming into the void for thirty years. No, the Dilophosaurus didn't spit venom or have a neck frill. That was a creative choice by Crichton. Also, Velociraptors were the size of turkeys and covered in feathers. The "raptors" in the movies are actually based on Deinonychus, but Spielberg thought "Velociraptor" sounded cooler.
He was right. It does sound cooler.
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There's also the "vision based on movement" thing. In reality, the T. rex probably had excellent vision, maybe even better than a modern hawk. If you stood still in front of a real T. rex, you wouldn't be safe; you'd just be an easy snack. But the movies have established their own internal logic, and at this point, changing it would feel "wrong" to the general public.
The Cultural Impact of the Jurassic Park Movies
It’s hard to overstate how much these films changed the world.
- The Dinosaur Renaissance: Enrollment in paleontology programs spiked in the mid-90s because of this movie.
- CGI Revolution: Without the digital dinosaurs of 1993, we might not have gotten Toy Story, Lord of the Rings, or the MCU as early as we did.
- The Theme Parks: Universal Studios basically built its modern identity around the Jurassic brand. The VelociCoaster in Orlando is widely considered one of the best roller coasters on the planet.
How to Watch Them Now
If you're planning a marathon, you've got a couple of ways to do it. You can go in release order, which is the standard 1 through 6 (plus Rebirth). Or, you can try the "Chronological" route, which includes the Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory animated series on Netflix. Those shows are actually canon and bridge the gaps between the films surprisingly well.
Actionable Steps for the Ultimate Fan
If you want to dive deeper than just rewatching the films, here is what you should actually do:
- Read the original Michael Crichton novels. They are much darker and more violent than the movies. In the book, John Hammond isn't a kindly grandfather; he's a greedy corporate villain who gets what’s coming to him.
- Check out the "Jurassic World Evolution" games. If you think you can run the park better without everyone getting eaten, these management sims let you try.
- Visit a "Certified" Fossil Site. Don't just look at the screen. Places like the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah or the American Museum of Natural History in NYC show you the real bones that inspired the movies.
The Jurassic Park movies aren't just about monsters chasing people. They're about the hubris of thinking we can control nature. As Ian Malcolm famously said, "Life finds a way." And clearly, so does this franchise. It’s 2026, and we’re already hearing rumors about where the series goes after Rebirth. Whether it's a TV show or another movie, the gates aren't closing anytime soon.
Expert Insight: When watching the sequels, pay attention to the sound design. The T. rex roar is actually a mix of a baby elephant, a tiger, and an alligator. That's why it feels so "real"—it’s grounded in actual animal biology, even if the dinosaur's look isn't 100% accurate.