'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Trailer: Dinosaurs Vs. The Volcano

Ready for another stroll in the park? Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will continue the dino-mayhem that broke the bank with 2015's Jurassic World, a continuation of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. The Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer has just arrived to sink its teeth into you (metaphorically; don't worry).

While critics were less-than-kind to 2015's Jurassic Park sequel Jurassic World, the film was a dinosaur-sized hit at the box office, netting a worldwide total of $1,671,713,208 (per Box Office Mojo). Now Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hopes to roar its way to box office glory. The sequel brings back Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and adds James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall and original Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum to the mix. A Monster Calls director J.A. Bayona has taken over directing duties from Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Trailer

The plot of the new film involves Pratt and Howard's character returning to the island to save some dinos when a volcano goes off. Oh, and Jeff Goldblum shows up in court. Overall, this looks...okay? It looks like a big, dumb monster movie, which is essentially what this franchise has been since The Lost World: Jurassic Park. That said, I do find it interesting that the special effects in this very modern movie pale in comparison to the effects used in the 1993 original. Why do special effects from 24 years ago look better than what's on display here? It's truly strange.

Beyond that, I'll just come right out and say it: I thought Jurassic World was fine. I know a lot of my fellow critics loathed the film with the fire of a thousand suns, and I agree that it can't hold a candle to Steven Spielberg's awe-inspiring original. But it was a fun, dumb monster movie that kept me entertained  – for the most part. That said, I have higher hopes for this sequel, because Bayona is a better filmmaker than Trevorrow. In an interview with The Independent, Bayona briefly described his approach to the film, and his words certainly inspire confidence:

"It doesn't matter what the film is about – what is important always is what lies behind the story. So as a filmmaker you need to take out the dinosaur and think about what is lying behind the story, beyond the dinosaurs, beyond the genre. For me the dinosaur is the surface."

Bayona, who has a background in horror with the film The Orphanage, also said he'd be bringing more horror elements to his film:

"Jurassic is going to be much more scary than the previous films," Bayona says. "You need to think that these movies need to appeal to a very big wide audience and that is very tricky. But if you think about the first Jurassic Park that was very scary. Remember that scene with the T-Rex in the car and the kid? You see that scene again and it's quite dark and scary. Stephen Spielberg was very brave doing that with kids. I think somehow you can bring that back for a blockbuster film."

All that sounds very, very cool, and like a much better approach to the material than Jurassic World. Another bonus: this film makes the wise choice to bring back style icon Jeff Goldblum.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens June 22, 2018.