Recently, we published an article exploring how we thought Jurassic World Aftermath may fit into the wider canon – with lots of speculation as to the role that characters like Dr Wu would play within the story. Now, we can follow-up on that article with some facts pulled straight from a session spent with the new VR Game. The footage to accompany this video can be found on our YouTube channel, and is courtesy of fellow Jurassic fan Brent Kappel, who actually appeared in Jurassic World as an extra!
Without any further ado, let’s break down some of the most interesting pieces of lore introduced within Jurassic World Aftermath. Spoilers ahead for anyone planning to play the game themselves.
The key thing on everyone’s mind is obvious – how are there more Velociraptors on the island? We learn, in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, that Blue is supposedly the last of her kind – which makes her an invaluable asset for Doctor Wu and Eli Mills to obtain. Naturally, you may think that the inclusion of Velociraptors here in Aftermath takes away from this – but careful consideration has been made to think about where they slot into the story. The N.M.S Centre was an off-the-grid facility so to speak, in terms of the fact that the work they did at the facility was not well known by the other operatives working on Isla Nublar. In fact, mention of Owen Grady and Vic Hoskins is made at one point – acknowledging that neither of them knew about the existence of the programme. This suggests that the work being conducted at the N.M.S Centre was different to the work being conducted by Project IBRIS – and therefore was kept relatively quiet in comparison to InGen’s other project.
But, you may be asking, why was there a need for a second Velociraptor project?
The answer boils down to the science and genetics of Jurassic World. We know that genetic modification has been a key story point for the latter films, and this is no different in Aftermath, with the work at the N.M.S Centre proving vital in allowing the geneticists at Jurassic World to continue to enhance how much they can augment the code of their dinosaurs. The NMS Centre, in particular, was working on the Velociraptor Genome, and was experimenting with areas like elevated social hormones, suggesting that they were taking the work which IBRIS had done, and seeing if they could tailor-make a Raptor which is more able to respond to commands – aka the latter Indoraptor. We also learn that work had been done to get the raptors to respond to audio prompts so they could come for feeding – again, building upon the idea of these being Raptors who can be more effectively trained and controlled. The way Wu is communicated throughout here as a narcissistic and egotistical character is very interesting, too, as it helps to sell his character as someone who is purely invested in his work without any of the ethical confines which may have otherwise held him back. The mission to recover the Velociraptor Genome ultimately takes a change of pace when, at the end of the game, it is revealed that we need to recover Blue’s DNA. Indeed, in this moment we learn that Blue’s creation seemed to be an accident. Wu was experimenting with monitor lizard polymer raised to promote parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) when Blue was born – implying that she may be able to reproduce naturally in the current Jurassic World Dominion timeline.
So, how does all of this tie directly into Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and the birth of the Indoraptor? Well, as we already know from the film, the mission to recover Blue is an important stepping stone in creating the Indoraptor. Therefore it is natural for us to assume that the events of this game are taking place parallel to the development of the first Indoraptor prototype we later see in the film – implying that the work and research recovered here factors in to the eventual creation of that animal. We get more concrete comparison of this being tied together through the fact that Mia and Sam actually have a direct link with Lockwood Manor in the latter part of the game – showing that Wu is indeed working with Mills at this point. It sounds as if Mills is in charge of the operation at this point in time, as Wu mentions him as overseeing the operations at several points. This suggests that the mission to Isla Nublar we see in FK’s opening is perhaps the climax of a long string of missions to recover different pieces of technology which were ultimately needed to continue Wu’s hybridisation work. The most interesting piece of lore here is that we learn that InGen had emergency backup systems connected on the mainland to Nublar – with Lockwood Manor being the emergency backup for the facility. This implies that rather than being a rogue faction, Mills and Wu may have still had some affiliation with InGen during the events of JWFK, although it could equally be implied that the connection existed from the Jurassic Park days when Lockwood was still involved in the parks.
There are a couple of other interesting bits of information strewn throughout the game. The first is that Wu begins to freak out when the character of Emelia (the geneticist helping with the in-game mission) has a meeting with Simon Masrani in May of 2015. This allegation is taking to the InGen Board, with Wu pulling her up for insubordination towards a superior. This is interesting as Wu becomes very defensive and suggests that she may damage the work of both him and the board – implying that rogue elements inside of InGen may be working against the wishes of Masrani this whole time. Whilst this isn’t anything new per-say, it does provide interesting insight as to where people like Hoskins may have fit into a much larger game being played in the shadows by other entities in InGen. Of note, also, is the way Wu presents his work throughout these audio logs – implying that he is working on multiple projects which will change man’s understanding of the natural world. Much like we saw hinted within Camp Cretaceous, the implication here seems to be that Wu may have worked on many more projects than those we simply see on screen.
A couple of final bits of interesting information we wanted to highlight is to do with specific details inside the story. Firstly, we learn that Isla Nublar’s Jurassic World did, indeed, use a Geothermal Plant – and that the Dilophosaurus can be found nested in there. Whilst this game does take place two years after the titular film, it is entirely possible that they have been nested in them for some time – which may explain the lack of encounters with this particular dinosaur so far in Camp Cretaceous. In addition to this, we also learn that Nublar is under a UN Quarantine following the events of the Jurassic World incident – meaning that we are in a similar situation to that which we find in JPIII. The fact the characters only have one hour on the island suggests this may be more stringent, however. Another fun detail comes in a mention of the Monorail – with it being revealed that the Indominus tore through the monorail track at some point before the main street battle, explaining some of the damage and devastation inflicted upon Nublar between the incident and JWFK. There are also a few other moments scattered throughout – including a fun visual nod to the Jurassic Park Visitors Centre.
All of this comes together to make a piece of Jurassic media which is much broader and deeper in terms of canonical scope than I think any of us expected going into it. Whilst we remain hesitant about whether this will be a ‘canonical’ story or not, I think that there has been some great work here to build on core Jurassic concepts. The character of Wu is developed incredibly well, and the ties to Lockwood Manor and Mills are executed well, too – making enough sense when considered alongside the events of Fallen Kingdom. Overall, Jurassic World Aftermath appears to have a lot of value in building up some pre-established areas of the canon, whilst also building to the future. As mentioned in the article, the idea of asexual reproduction in Blue poses an interesting question for Jurassic World Dominion. A recorded speech from Ian Malcolm present in the game also talks about a course correction after we have meddled with science to this point – setting the perfect precedent for what we are expecting to see in the upcoming sequel.
What do you think? Are you surprised about how much lore is packed into Jurassic World Aftermath? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for plenty more on all things Jurassic Park and Jurassic World here on The Jurassic Park Podcast.
Written by:
Tom Fishenden