Unlike other long-running franchises, it is easy to watch the Jurassic Park movies in order. Despite a lengthy hiatus between the third and fourth movie, the films have all been released in chronological order. There are no out-of-sequence prequels or sequels to worry about. Indeed, the road to the most recent movie, Jurassic Park: Rebirth, isn’t that long, and you’ll be there in no time if you follow our guide.
What’s the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies in?
The best way to watch the Jurassic Park franchise is in release order. Thankfully, the films play out in a direct sequence. However, the timeline gets a bit confusing if you add in the two animated series and the Battle at Big Rock short film.
If you wish to see everything in chronological order, the list would be:
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park 3
Jurassic World
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (animated series)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Battle at Big Rock (short film)
Jurassic World: Dominion
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (animated series)
Jurassic World: Rebirth
However, the two animated series and short film aren’t essential to the experience. So, unless you’re extremely into the franchise, you might want to leave them out.
Jurassic Park (1993)
There are blockbusters, there are classics, and then there are classic blockbusters that define an era of movie magic. Jurassic Park, indisputably one of most iconic movies of the ’90s, is all three. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, who got into a bidding war with Aliens director James Cameron for the rights to adapt it. Spielberg won, and the rest is cinematic history. The script was co-written by sci-fi author Michael Crichton (who wrote the original Jurassic Park novel) and legendary screenwriter David Koepp.
The story is set on an island near Costa Rica, where wealthy entrepreneur John Hammond built a theme park featuring genetically engineered dinosaurs. Of course, things don’t stay under control for long, thanks to a little industrial sabotage from a disgruntled computer programmer. The dinosaurs break loose, leaving Hammond and a group of guests (including several scientists) struggling to survive.
To call the movie a huge hit would be an understatement. This success was due to both Spielberg’s direction and the revolutionary CGI that brought the dinosaurs to life. The cast was also stacked, with Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Richard Attenborough, Wayne Knight, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, and BD Wong rounding out the ensemble.
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The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Set four years after the first Jurassic Park, The Lost World ups the stakes considerably. This time, mathematician Ian Malcolm is recruited to lead a new team to Isla Nublar. Their mission is to record the dinosaurs existence, in order to encourage the world governments to declare the island a nature preserve. Unfortunately, John Hammond’s nephew (who took control of his company) has dreams of starting a new Jurassic Park in San Diego. His efforts result in the accidental release of dinosaurs on mainland America.
Unlike many sequels, which merely copy-paste the story of the original, The Lost World took risks with a darker story. However, it also maintained a strong sense of continuity to the first Jurassic Park. Beyond Stephen Spielberg returning to direct, The Lost World also brought back Jeff Goldblum, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, and Richard Attenborough. The ensemble expanded to introduce Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, and the late great Pete Postlethwaite.
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Jurassic Park 3 (2001)
Sam Neill and Laura Dern are back in Jurassic Park 3, this time with Joe Johnston in the director’s chair. Still traumatized by the events of the first film, Dr. Alan Grant gets roped into offering an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This is for the benefit of a rich divorced couple, Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni), who claim they want to fund his research.
In truth, they’re searching for their son, who went missing on the island. Against Grant’s advice (and definitely against his will), they land the plane. Naturally there are unfortunate circumstances that leave them stranded, requiring yet another struggle to escape.
Jurassic Park 3 is faster-paced than its predecessor. However, there’s not much story besides “find the kid and run.” The main draw this time is some new dinosaurs and the climactic showdown between a Spinosaurus and a T-Rex.
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Jurassic World (2015)
Twenty years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar has evolved into a luxury resort called Jurassic World. And like all theme parks, they need new attractions to bring the crowds back. Naturally the answer is introducing a new dinosaur that’s bigger, faster, smarter, and scarier: the Indominus rex. When the exceptionally smart dinosaur inevitably escapes her enclosure, park operations manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) teams up with velociraptor trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) to stop the Indominus before it destroys everything.
Jurassic World received more mixed reviews than earlier films in the franchise. This was largely because the dinosaurs were portrayed as monsters hunting for sport rather than beasts seeking food. This was a marked contrast from the original Jurassic Park, where the dinosaurs, terrifying as they were, always acted like wild animals.
Despite this, Jurassic World still addresses the same themes of human arrogance as the original. This time, however, it more directly examines the consequences of profiting from animals. Even with these messages, it is still a fun watch and delivers a nice homage to the original while introducing Jurassic Park to a new generation.
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
After Jurassic World was destroyed, the dormant volcano on the island began to show signs that it might erupt. Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt return, with Claire convincing Owen and wealthy dino enthusiast Eli (Rafe Spall) to rescue the dinosaurs. They soon discover that the dinosaurs aren’t just at risk of extinction, but also being sold on the black market.
Again, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom faced mixed reviews. This time, a key point of criticism concerned the dinosaur auctions aimed at rich one-percenters. The idea of a dinosaur selling for as little as ten million dollars, even in the economy of Jurassic World, is laughable. To put this in perspective, champion racehorses sell for tens of millions of dollars, with the most expensive being $70 million.
Fallen Kingdom also was criticized for a plot that drags and inaccurate depictions of some of the dinosaurs. This was shameful, given the earlier films prided themselves on being well-researched in regards to their science. Still, the opening sequence is peak dinosaur horror and one of the most memorable moments in the entire Jurassic Park saga.
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Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
It is four years after Fallen Kingdom, and dinosaurs are freely roaming the Earth. Naturally, given that these creatures were meant to live in radically different biomes and climates, things start going wrong. This time, however, the culprits are Biosyn – a sinister corporation who believe that they can mess around with Mother Nature without consequences.
The plot teams the heroes of both the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises together. Ellie, Grant, and Malcolm are working together to expose Biosyn’s crimes. At the same time, Claire and Owen are living off the grid, raising Maisie Lockwood; a human clone whose genetics could hold the key to saving the world.
Despite the movie’s mixed reviews, Jurassic World: Dominion successfully united the original trilogy and the Jurassic World eras in one epic finale. It also made over $1 billion worldwide. This was more than enough to make Universal greenlight a new series of movies.
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Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)
Jurassic World: Rebirth is set three years after Dominion. In the time between films, the weather has forced the dinosaurs into an area around the equator. Exclusion zones have been established for them, to prevent further exploitation of the genetically engineered dinosaurs.
Despite this, pharmaceuticals executive, Martin Krebs hires covert operative Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). They assemble a team to raid an old InGen lab for genetic samples that could cure heart disease. Naturally, there are complications, which lead to another race to escape certain doom.
Jurassic World: Rebirth was praised for its back-to-basics approach. The story harkened back to the classic formula, with scientists, soldiers, and civilians struggling for survival in a remote location. However, the movie was notable for its river chase sequence, which is believed to have been inspired by a moment in the Jurassic Park novel that didn’t make it into the movie.
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Do I need to watch the Netflix Jurassic Park series?
For those who wish to explore every aspect of the Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is worth a watch. The series follows a group of teens stranded on Isla Nublar during the events of the first Jurassic World movie, While kid-friendly, the show does get darker as it goes on. While not necessary viewing for the sake of the series, it does add a good deal of depth to the Jurassic World setting. It’s definitely worth watching if you like action animation or you’re a Jurassic Park completist.
