Yes, There Are Primitive War Sequels - But You Won't Find Them In Theaters

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A Vietnam War movie with dinosaurs is definitely in the "things we didn't know we needed" category, but "Primitive War" proved to be so wildly entertaining in its outlandishness that it prompted /Film's Ryan Scott to declare it the greatest non-"Jurassic Park" dinosaur movie ever made. Produced on a shockingly low budget, "Primitive War" made just $217,000 during its limited theatrical run, but word of mouth has spread and the film has been building a following ever since its August 2025 debut. As such, fans might well be eager for sequels, and while it will be some time before we see a theatrical follow-up, several books continue the "Primitive" story.

Australian director Luke Sparke co-wrote the film's script alongside writer Ethan Pettus, whose 2017 novel of the same name provided the basis for the movie. But that novel actually spawned an entire "Primitive War" series that now includes four published books. Pettus has confirmed there are more on the way, too, which means that anyone looking for a quick sequel fix can very much find it in literary form right now.

"Primitive War" stars Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer, Nick Wechsler, and Jeremy Piven and is set in 1968 Vietnam, where a search and rescue team, "Vulture Squad," is accosted by primeval beasts as they go in search of a lost Green Beret platoon. But the story doesn't end with the travails of Vulture Squad, as the follow-up books not only continue the central "Primitive War" narrative, they expand the universe with field guides and short story collections that are bound to satiate fans of the uber-violent paleo-media epitomized by Sparke's movie.

The "Primitive War" series of novels currently comprises the original book, which was retroactively renamed to "Primitive War: Opiate Undertow," and 2020's "Primitive War II: Animus Infernal." In the direct sequel, the action moves to Angola, where bounty hunters are forced to lead the Stalker Force unit against hordes of primeval creatures after a particle accelerator is sabotaged at the end of the Cold War. Described as a modern reinterpretation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World," the sequel was just as interested in humankind's capacity for cruelty among its own kind as it was with dinosaur violence.

Alongside the main novels, there have been two "Dispatches" books. The first, 2019's "Primitive War Dispatches: The Hunting of Stalker Force," is a short story collection following events that took place a year after the original novel. It follows former medic Xavier Wise as he takes command of the elite unit known as Stalker Force, who are tasked with containing the dinos that originally menaced Vulture Squad. 2024's "The Primitive War Dispatches Volume II: The Psalms of Xipetotec" is another collection of short stories that fills in some gaps between "The Hunting of Stalker Force" and "Primitive War II." It follows Stalker Force as they hunt a plague-carrying utahraptor known as Xipetotec across the world, from Vietnam to Africa.

There's also "The Primitive War Bestiary," which was written by Pettus and published in 2018. Serving as a field guide to the fictional world of the novels, the Bestiary features black and white illustrations from artist Bruno Hernandez. If that's not enough "Primitive War," you can also read the pitch issue of the "Primitive War" comic book over on the official website. Otherwise, you can finally watch "Primitive War" at home when the movie becomes available on VOD platforms beginning Friday, October 3, 2025.