Jurassic Park: A Comprehensive Timeline of Dinosaurs and the Dawn of Chaos
65 Million Years Ago: Prehistoric Era
Dinosaurs Reign
- The prologue of Jurassic World: Dominion reveals a prehistoric confrontation between two apex predators: a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Gigantosaurus. The T-Rex is killed, but a fly drinks its blood, later becoming encased in tree sap, which eventually solidifies into amber. This event is crucial to the future cloning of dinosaurs.
- This amber, containing the T-Rex's DNA, plays a central role in Jurassic Park, as scientists extract it to resurrect the long-extinct dinosaurs.
1975: InGen is Founded
John Hammond's Dream Begins
- John Hammond, a visionary entrepreneur, founds InGen (International Genetics Technologies, Inc.) alongside his partner Benjamin Lockwood. Their goal is audacious: to clone dinosaurs by extracting ancient DNA from prehistoric mosquitoes fossilized in amber.
- Hammond recruits Dr. Henry Wu, a geneticist, to lead the scientific team tasked with bringing dinosaurs back to life.
1985: The First Dinosaur Is Cloned
Groundbreaking Success
- After years of research, InGen successfully clones its first dinosaur. This achievement marks the beginning of Jurassic Park's reality, as InGen prepares to bring dinosaurs back into the world after 65 million years of extinction.
1993: The Events of Jurassic Park
The Park That Never Opens
- Jurassic Park, located on Isla Nublar, is nearly operational as a dinosaur-themed safari park. To ensure safety, Hammond invites several experts to evaluate the park: paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, and mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm.
- Meanwhile, InGen's chief rival, BioSyn, hires Dennis Nedry, a disgruntled park employee, to steal dinosaur embryos. This leads to a catastrophic failure of the park's systems.
- Chaos ensues when the park's security fails during a storm, causing dinosaurs, including the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors, to escape. In a climactic sequence, the survivors flee the island, with Hammond realizing that his dream is too dangerous to bring to fruition.
1997: The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Isla Sorna Becomes a Battleground
- InGen, under the leadership of Hammond’s nephew, Peter Ludlow, has shifted focus to Isla Sorna, a nearby island (Site B) where dinosaurs were bred in the wild. Ludlow seeks to exploit the dinosaurs for profit by bringing them to a new Jurassic Park in San Diego.
- Hammond, now ill and in opposition to Ludlow’s plans, sends Ian Malcolm to document the dinosaurs in their natural habitat. Malcolm is joined by Sarah Harding, an animal behaviorist, and his daughter Kelly.
- Tension arises when Ludlow's mercenaries attempt to capture dinosaurs for transport to the mainland. Their plan results in a fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex being released in San Diego, wreaking havoc on the city before being subdued and returned to Isla Sorna.
2001: Jurassic Park III
Rescue Mission Gone Wrong
- After a young boy named Eric Kirby is stranded on Isla Sorna following a parasailing accident, his desperate parents, Paul and Amanda Kirby, trick Dr. Alan Grant into helping them mount a rescue mission.
- Unbeknownst to the Kirbys, the island is far more dangerous than they anticipated. New threats arise, including the colossal Spinosaurus and Pteranodons.
- The mission turns into a fight for survival as the group encounters various deadly species. Ultimately, Grant successfully rescues Eric, and they escape the island with the help of the U.S. Navy.
1997-2005: The Rise of Jurassic World
Hammond’s Dream Reborn
- Before his death in 1998, Hammond changes his stance on the commercialization of dinosaurs, advocating for them to be left in isolation. However, after InGen is acquired by Masrani Global Corporation, led by Simon Masrani, a new vision for Hammond's park emerges.
- Masrani funds the creation of Jurassic World, an updated and heavily commercialized version of Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. The park includes luxurious resorts, restaurants, and even genetically modified dinosaurs to maintain public interest.
2015: The Events of Jurassic World
A New Disaster Unfolds
- Jurassic World, after operating successfully for a decade, faces its greatest challenge with the escape of the genetically engineered hybrid Indominus Rex. The Indominus, designed for its formidable traits, quickly proves to be more dangerous than expected.
- Owen Grady, a former Navy veteran who has been training Velociraptors, teams up with the park's operations manager, Claire Dearing, to stop the rampage.
- The Indominus Rex wrecks havoc across the island, freeing other dangerous dinosaurs. In a climactic battle, Owen’s lead Velociraptor, Blue, teams up with the original T-Rex from 1993, ultimately defeating the Indominus, which is dragged into the lagoon and devoured by a Mosasaurus. The park is evacuated and shut down permanently.
2015-2018: The Events of Camp Cretaceous
The Kids Left Behind
- Set during the fall of Jurassic World, Netflix’s Camp Cretaceous follows six teenagers selected to participate in an elite summer camp on Isla Nublar. When the dinosaurs escape, the teens are left stranded and must rely on each other to survive.
- Over five seasons, the campers face various dangers, including encountering hybrid dinosaurs like the Scorpios Rex, bioengineered by Dr. Wu. They also uncover shady corporate schemes and battle against mercenaries.
- The series provides a side-story to the events of Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom, offering unique insights into the perils of the island through the eyes of young survivors.
2017-2018: The Events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Dinosaurs on the Mainland
- Isla Nublar faces imminent destruction as the dormant volcano Mount Sibo reawakens. Claire Dearing, now an advocate for dinosaur rights, leads the Dinosaur Protection Group (DPG), which seeks to save as many species as possible.
- Claire recruits Owen Grady to help rescue Blue, his Velociraptor, but they quickly realize they’ve been betrayed by Eli Mills, who plans to sell the dinosaurs in an illegal black market auction.
- The dinosaurs are transported to Lockwood Manor, where a genetically engineered Indoraptor is revealed. This dangerous new hybrid, created from the Indominus Rex, becomes a terrifying threat within the mansion.
- The climax of the film sees the young Maisie Lockwood, revealed to be a human clone, freeing the dinosaurs, who escape into the wild. The film ends with dinosaurs now spread across the world, setting the stage for global consequences.
2019: Battle at Big Rock
Dinosaurs In The Wild
- The short film Battle at Big Rock depicts the harrowing experience of a family at a campsite who encounter dinosaurs. Set one year after the events of Fallen Kingdom, the film illustrates how dinosaurs have become a part of the modern world, showing interactions between dinosaurs and humans outside of the islands for the first time.
2021: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
The Return of The Nublar Six
- In the animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, the six campers from Camp Cretaceous, known as the Nublar Six, reunite six years after their initial survival ordeal. Their return to action, driven by new threats and the loss of one of their own, reveals that danger still looms despite the fall of Jurassic World. The Nublar Six are targeted by a shadowy figure bent on finishing what began on Isla Nublar, and the series serves as a bridge between Fallen Kingdom and Dominion.
2022: The Events of Jurassic World: Dominion
The New World
- Dinosaurs now roam freely across the planet, causing widespread disruption to ecosystems and human civilization. The film follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, who are living off the grid while trying to protect Maisie, now a key target due to her genetic origins.
- Meanwhile, BioSyn, led by the shadowy Lewis Dodgson, is revealed to be conducting dubious experiments with dinosaurs, including genetically modified locusts that threaten the global food supply.
- The film sees the return of the original Jurassic Park trio—Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Dr. Ian Malcolm—who team up with Owen and Claire to expose BioSyn's unethical practices and ensure the survival of both humans and dinosaurs in this new world.
2024: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
Ongoing Threats
- The animated series continues the saga of the Nublar Six, now scattered across the world. Dinosaurs are now integrated into everyday life, with humanity having to adapt to living alongside these prehistoric creatures. The story continues to unfold as the characters face new dangers, revealing secrets that tie back to the origins of Jurassic Park.