8 minute short Battle at Big Rock is set between Jurassic World films

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

After letting J.A. Bayona sit in the director's chair on JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, JURASSIC WORLD director Colin Trevorrow is returning to the helm for the next film in the JURASSIC WORLD / JURASSIC PARK franchise. JURASSIC WORLD 3 is aiming for a June 11, 2021 release, but before we get there Trevorrow has already filmed something else that's set in the JURASSIC universe.

When Universal asked Trevorrow if he'd be interested in making a JURASSIC short film, he jumped at the chance. The result is an 8 minute short called BATTLE AT BIG ROCK, which will air on FX after a showing of JURASSIC WORLD this Sunday, September 15th.

Speaking with Collider, Trevorrow revealed that BATTLE AT BIG ROCK is set one year after dinosaurs escaped into the California countryside at the end of FALLEN KINGDOM.

It’s about a family on a camping trip to Big Rock National Park, about 20 miles from where the last film ended. There have been a few sightings, but this is the first major confrontation between dinosaurs and humans."

Trevorrow wrote the script with his JURASSIC WORLD 3 collaborator Emily Carmichael. The short was filmed in Ireland last year and stars André Holland, Natalie Martinez, Melody Hurd, and Pierson Salvador.

When asked why he felt the need to tell a story that takes place between JURASSIC WORLD films, Trevorrow said, 

The world is bigger than just the characters we’ve been following in the films. We’ve finally taken the story off Isla Nublar, we wanted to show a glimpse of that new reality. If this really happened, you’d see a series of random disconnected incidents that would create a pattern of chaos. I wanted to see one of those incidents."

Trevorrow also confirmed that the short will feature a couple dinosaurs we haven't seen in the JURASSIC movies:

There are two species we’ve never seen before. The Nasutoceratops, which is a beautiful herbivore that feels like a Texas Longhorn. And the Allosaurus, one of the most iconic dinosaurs of all time. This one was a juvenile in the last movie. She’s all grown up now."

If you can't catch BATTLE AT BIG ROCK on FX, don't worry – it will be released online as soon as the FX showing is over. As of 10pm PST this Sunday night it will be on NBC.com, JurassicWorld.com, and the official JURASSIC WORLD social media channels. 

I'll be checking it out, it sounds interesting to me. A fun way to hold us over during the three year wait between films.