Jurassic World: Down Under — How the mega movie franchise could come to Australia

KILLER reptiles, ancient underwater predators, Sam Neill ... Australia would make the perfect setting for a Jurassic World movie. Now the Hollywood heavyweight behind the franchise says it could happen.

COULD Jurassic World come to Australia?

The Hollywood heavyweight steering the blockbuster franchise is open to the idea.

“There are so many scaly creatures in Australia that can do you in,” Colin Trevorrow told the Sunday Herald Sun.

“And I know we have a lot of fans down there — there’s probably a lot of people who can relate.”

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Sam Neill on the run from dinosaurs in a scene from the original blockbuster hit Jurassic Park, released in 1993. Picture: Universal Pictures

Writer and producer Colin Trevorrow at the Spanish premiere of film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

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In the new Jurassic World movie that hits cinemas on Thursday, Fallen Kingdom, a mosasaurus is seen menacing surfers — a scene that could very well play out in Australian waters where Great White Sharks regularly lurk.

As seen in the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer, a mosasaurus preparing to munch on some unsuspecting surfers. Picture: Universal Pictures

And the prospect of a raptor facing off with a roo is surely a big selling point for any future Jurassic World: Down Under.

“I don’t disagree,” said Trevorrow, who directed 2015’s Jurassic World, wrote and produced the new film and will be back in the director’s chair for a third instalment.

Of the new dinosaurs on show in Fallen Kingdom, Trevorrow describes his favourite, the energetic and headbutting Stygimoloch, as “a Tassie Devil”.

The new dino on the block in Fallen Kingdom is the headbutting-happy Stygimoloch. Picture: Universal Pictures

Trevorrow likens the Stygimoloch to the famous Looney Tunes cartoon character Taz. Picture: Warner Bros

“That’s obviously a Warner Bros cartoon reference, not a real thing, but I love that little animal,” the American said with a laugh. “And I’m really into Tasmania, I’ve always been fascinated.”

The mooted de-extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, or Thylacine, thanks to DNA editing and cloning advances in recent years, echoes the science-fiction that brought dinosaurs back to life in the Jurassic movies.

Trevorrow isn’t so sure if the real world should follow Hollywood’s lead.

Could Australian scientists follow Hollywood’s lead and de-extinct the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, using DNA? Picture: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

The killer dinosaur known as an indoraptor in Fallen Kingdom is a genetic hybrid made from splicing different dino DNA. Picture: Universal Pictures

“It is an interesting moral question in the real world. As you have creatures going extinct — you know, the last white rhinoceros male just died — if we had the ability to de-extinct that creature, because we are directly responsible for its extinction, do we do it? I don’t know the answer.

“I feel like we definitely are responsible, but also there’s a very strange discomfort of using science to create life in the first place. So there’s a lot to think about.”

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom brings original Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum back into the fold. Trevorrow would love to bring Sam Neill back for a future film, too.

Rumours that the Kiwi star, long adopted by Australia as one of our own, had been spotted on the Hawaiian set of Fallen Kingdom last year proved to be untrue.

Now is that dinosaur CGI or animatronic? 😂 Thank you Sam. Would love to work with you one day. 😉 https://t.co/YAE4obOo56

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) 14 June 2018

“Sam Neill is the only one of the legacy characters I haven’t met personally,” Trevorrow said.

“He’s very far away, you have to travel very far to get to him. But I love his wine and I can’t wait to meet him.”

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