No Bones About It: 'Jurassic World 2' Brings Back Animatronics And Another Dinosaur

Forget putting your hand up Elmo or the sock puppets that mamma used to make, #JABayona's #JurassicWorld2 is promising something much bigger and with the bite to take on even the most technologically advanced Hollywood films.

Hoping to breathe new life into a species that has been dead for 65.5 million years, Bayona is returning to what made Jurassic Park so special in 1993. Leaked photos from the set of #Universal's upcoming dino-mite sequel gives us a first look at those hungry herbivores and cannibalistic carnivores.

CG-Why?

Posted by RaptorChaser17 on Twitter, we get a close-up look of the Apatosaurus and Dilophosaurus, meaning both are sure to play a part in the follow up to 2015's Jurassic World. Adding to the already returning T-Rex, as well as #ChrisPratt, #BryceDallasHoward, and #BDWong, it looks like Bayona isn't skimping on the throwback factor with these cute critters. Notice that the Dilophosaurus keeps its colorful look from 1993's film, so let's hope someone else gets an iconic Dennis Nedry death.

Back in late 2016, Bayona confirmed that JW2 would return to the franchise roots of relying on animatronics over flashy CGI. #StevenSpielberg's original used only 63 animated effects in its entire runtime; compare that with The Avengers' 2,200 and you can see a big difference. Meanwhile, 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy had 90 percent of its shots created artificially. Jurassic World 2 will undoubtedly be using more than 63 effects, but it is refreshing that the franchise isn't losing its way under a wave of modernization.

Although Jurassic World received some flack for its filming techniques, the tragic scene involving the Apatosaurus was made entirely using robotics. The scene in question had Owen and Claire find the injured dinosaur after its herd was attacked by the Indominus Rex. Reminiscent of the sick Triceratops scene from Jurassic Park, to have it created in CGI would've looked odd so close up. With the animatronics saved for some of the most dramatic and emotional scenes of the franchise, expect JW2 to follow suit.

Robots In Disguise

The original Jurassic Park made the most of its animatronics, and call me naive, but they still stand up by today's standards. It is a tribute to Spielberg's work and #MichaelCrichton's legacy that Bayona is using a back to basics approach. Jurassic World had just the right balance of animatronics and CGI without looking cheap. Compare this with Joe Johnston's maligned Jurassic Park III and his flashy lack of animatronics, it means that even the motorbike running raptors of Jurassic World weren't too out of place.

Bayona's A Monster Calls cleverly balanced practical and artificial effects, so he clearly knows what he is doing. Taking over a franchise that is already 24 years old is no mean feat, while his recent activity online shows that his team will be leaning heavily toward the side of puppetry for Jurassic World 2. The return of the classic JP style is sure to be no bad thing for die-hard fans of the world's most dangerous petting zoo.

While details are still thin on the ground, we are slowly piecing together who (and what) is returning for Jurassic World 2, promising to break out of the confines of the island when it hits cinemas in June 2018.