Jurassic Park isn’t the first thing you would think of when it comes to X-rated or NC-17-grade movies, but one filmmaker sees potential in such a turn for a franchise that, to be fair, needs a shot of adrenaline. Jurassic World Dominion and its predecessor Fallen Kingdom left a lot to be desired, and if the series is to continue, new directions should be considered.
The question is, however, would a more erotic take be the way to go? Emerald Fennel, director of the dramas Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, thinks so, and she is eager “to get in on the dinosaurs.” The filmmaker told told Deadline Jurassic Park is her favorite film, therefore she would like a crack at interpreting the mythos.
“But my favorite film of all time is Jurassic Park, so I would love to get in on the dinosaurs,” Fennell said. “Well, first and foremost, it’s very erotic,” Fennel continued. “I think humans and dinosaurs have gotten to that stage in their time together where things are starting to get quite thrilling. So, there’s a marriage between a man and a velociraptor and it’s basically a domestic drama.”
She might be attempting to be hyperbolic or maybe sarcastic, but if Fennel is serious there is a list of problems with her pitch. Number one, it implies bestiality so the story would immediately garner controversy. The other issue is the logic. The raptors in the Jurassic series are unpredictable carnivores, which means one would wind up eating the human living with it.
In the end, the story could never happen — unless they introduce the conceptualized human-dino hybrids that became the stuff of legend in the wake of Jurassic World. Even then, the hybrids require sentience along with the complexities of identity and self-awareness that equate to being human. Moreover, would anyone want to watch a film that explores all this?
Methinks not, and 2023’s box office receipts on the whole prove no one does. Oppenheimer and Barbie, two of the year’s biggest films, are exceptions to the drought. Fennel can brag she was part of the latter wherein she played the lost pregnant Barbie, Midge. Though it was a cameo, she considers that role one of the blessings she has experienced in her career.
“I honestly feel that I’ve been so lucky. I’ve been able to make my dream projects already,” she said. Her Jurassic “domestic drama” probably won’t be added to that list, but she has designs on other characters including The Little Mermaid.
“It’s sad they’ve just done The Little Mermaid because Ursula the Sea Witch is my inspiration and my muse. I’ve always loved her. I’ve always felt she deserves her own prequel where she’s misunderstood. She’s just going to the clubs, in that iconic outfit, stuffing souls into little bottles and then harvesting them,” Fennel explained.