Cancelled Jurassic World Game Concept Art Appears Online
Leaks, uh, find a way, as concept art from a cancelled Jurassic World video game has found its way online. Since Steven Spielberg first opened those iconic gates in 1993, we've had 29 years of "dinomite" Jurassic Park video games to enjoy.
From lows like Konami's Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor to highs like Ocean Software's OG game on the SNES, the franchise has continued to evolve. More recent entries like Jurassic World Evolution and LEGO Jurassic World have tried to cash in on the newer movies, but still, there's something missing from the notion of a truly great Jurassic game.
What Is The Cancelled Jurassic World Game?
We recently covered a mythical Jurassic Park game that looks like it was inspired by Left 4 Dead, but when it comes to the latest canned project, it has an even bigger place in the history books. Instead of this axed Jurassic World video game being a tie-in to 2015's movie of the same name, it was actually the foundation for the franchise's theatrical reset.
After the disappointment of 2001's Jurassic Park III, the series' name fell into development hell. There were plenty of ideas floated over the next decade, but instead of moving ahead with a proper Jurassic Park 4, Universal powered forward with a new cast of characters, meaning Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt took the lead for Colin Trevorrow's 2015 blockbuster.
In a series of candid interviews, Xbox creator Seamus Blackley has explained the lost Jurassic World game and how it came to inspire the movie. Speaking to YouTube channel Jurassic Time, Blackley goes on to reveal how the Jurassic World title was going to focus on humans and dinosaurs trying to coexist. Spielberg had plenty of involvement, but when Universal decided to move ahead with another movie, concept art for the game was actually used for the live-action Jurassic World.
What Does The Jurassic World Concept Art Show?
Click to enlargeThere's definitely a sense that the Jurassic World game was a "true" continuation of the story, with the main protagonist being Billy Brennan. You might remember that Alessandro Nivola played him in Jurassic Park III. Concept art shows what looks like Billy with a blue raptor, which we're guessing was repackaged into Chris Pratt's Owen Grady from Jurassic World.
The concept also shows how the dinosaurs had "evolved" from fan criticisms that the raptors in the first three movies weren't feathered (like history suggests). The pitch trailer shows surfers being attacked by flying dinosaurs, and while not a complete copy, there was a similar beat to the massive Mosasaur attacking surfers in 2018's Fallen Kingdom.
It's probably for the best that the Jurassic World game had its DNA spliced into what would become the movie. Love or loathe Chris Pratt, it's hard to see a movie that picked up the remnants of Jurassic Park III working quite as well.