‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ Ending Will Set the Stage for ‘Jurassic World 3’

Colin Trevorrow, co-writer and producer of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, confirmed this weekend that the film definitely sets up for a third installment.

Trevorrow sat down for an interview with Periodismo.com, explaining that his revival of the classic dinosaur movies was always meant to be a trilogy. Trevorrow said that because the studio expected a franchise rather than a standalone movie, he felt it was important to set the stage narratively to justify the ongoing production.

“I remember telling Steven [Spielberg] even while we were 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,” Trevorrow explained. “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,” he continued. “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.”

After stating the presence of a larger story, Trevorrow assuaged any fears that the movie would end on a cliffhanger.

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

Jurassic World grossed about $1.67 billion worldwide. The movie was a huge success, though some critics brushed it off. Perhaps Trevorrow’s vision of a trilogy will draw them back in once they see all the moving pieces.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is expected in theaters Jun. 22, 2018.