I’m sure we all remember long ago (2004-ish) when Jurassic Park IV was proposed to involve Commandos and “Super Solider” dinosaurs. For the sake of better judgement, the draft by William Monahan and John Sayles has been scrapped. Now, 2010… many years later… Drew McWeeny from HitFix.com sat down with Joe Johnston to comment about the possibility of Jurassic Park IV and it’s potential new trilogy. While it is nothing “new”, it just goes to show you the movie(s) is(are) still on the table. Enjoy!

Drew: Is that still in the offing, or have you moved on now to a new idea?

Joe: We have. There is an idea now for number four that is different from the first three, and that is more or less the beginning of a new trilogy, in that it sends the whole franchise off in a new direction. It’s not about the dinosaur park anymore. It’s about all-new characters. So Steven’s busy right now with the stuff he’s doing and I’ve got to do “Captain America,” but hopefully afterwards, we’ll find time to develop it. And really… it’s something different that we haven’t seen before in the “Jurassic Park” world.

Drew: I’m sorry we won’t see the Sayles/Monahan idea.

Joe: Well, you know, Universal and Steven will want to keep making these movies as long as they’re successful, and who knows? We may see the Monahan/Sayles version come back.

First off, Happy New years everyone! It’s been a long time coming since our last update… many ages ago. Today, I brings news from Boxoffice.com about Jurassic Park IV from the big man, Joe Johnston! He reports to Amy Nicholson of Boxoffice that Jurassic Park IV is not only happening, but a second trilogy may be in the works. Will our favorite characters (most notably: Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm and Ellie Sattler) be involved with the new trilogy or will this bring a whole new crew to the silver screen? More to follow!

Amy Nicholson (AN): You said that there was no way to get people back on the island for a fourth time and have it make sense, but that 2001 was the last installment and we’re due.

Joe Johnston (JJ): Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen. It breaks away from the first three—it’s essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It’s going to be done in a completely different way. That’s pretty much all I can tell you.

AN: A second trilogy?

JJ: If you think of the first three as a trilogy, number four would be the beginning of a second trilogy.

AN: That’s big. So not to lock you in, but there’s a possibility there might be a total of six films?

JJ: Well, you never know. If they keep working—and if audiences keep going to them—there’s no reason why there wouldn’t be. We just want to make them justified in their own right. We don’t want to make sequel after sequel just because there’s a market for it. We want to tell different, interesting stories. You don’t want to just sell hamburger.

Sad news rolled in last night while I was at work. News that shook me to the bone (link). I couldn’t believe it to be true. Stan Winston, the father of Jurassic Park beautiful dinosaurs, Terminator, Aliens, Predator and many more has passed away at the age of 62. Stan Winston died of complications from multiple myeloma (MM) Sunday at his home in Malibu, said his son, Matt Winston. To us he will always be remembered as the one who created life-size dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Jurassic Park III, blending them seamlessly with CG images, making us believe that dinosaurs roamed the earth once again. More recently, Winston and his team created the crystal skeletons for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the suits for the superhero Iron Man and the super-villain the Iron Monger in movie Iron Man. Stan Winston won 4 Oscars, another 17 wins and 31 nominations. He will be missed.

According to today’s Boston Globe, John Williams will be returning to contribute to the score for Jurassic Park IV.  Says the article:

Williams, now 76, was conductor of the Pops from 1980 to 1993. According to industry reports, he remains a busy man, with soundtracks for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Jurassic Park IV,” and “Superman: Man of Steel” all scheduled for his touch.

No word yet on whether the film maestro will be writing new music or merely contributing themes, as he did for Jurassic Park III.  This is an exciting piece of information, should it prove true.  Not only does it mean Jurassic Park IV is still on track, but those worried about production value should rest easier knowing Williams will be involved somehow.

Sideshow Collectibles, respected purveyor of movie paraphernalia, announced two days ago the acquisition of a new franchise.  Details are lacking, but soon you too can expect to be able to purchase quality figurines, busts, and replicas from the Jurassic Park films.  Good news for fans who are tired of pretending that their Barbasol cans have embryo storage capabilities.  Wait, am I the only one?