Jurassic Park was groundbreaking, and many of its original dinosaur effects still hold up today. There are now six movies in the Jurassic Park franchise, and another is due to be released in 2025. However, if the Jurassic Park franchise has one flaw, it is with the dinosaurs featured in the original trilogy. Some of Jurassic Park's most iconic dinosaur scenes, like the Velociraptor hunt in the kitchen and that final shot of the T. rex roaring under the Jurassic Park banner, should not have happened, because those dinosaurs should not have appeared in Jurassic Park.

The most memorable not all of Jurassic Park's stars are technically dinosaurs in the first place. Jurassic World's Dimorphodon is a flying reptile, for example, not a dinosaur. The inaccuracies work in Jurassic Park, by highlighting that John Hammond doesn't know what he is doing. However, if Jurassic Park had cast its dinosaurs from just the Jurassic Period, these should have been the stars.

Brachiosaurus

The Iconic Dinosaur With A Long Neck

The Brachiosaurus is one of the most iconic Jurassic Park dinosaur species, and features in two of the original Jurassic Park movies' most memorable scenes. It is the first dinosaur that Alan Grant sees, and this scene is central to the movie. This sets up Jurassic Park's story, developing the main characters within a few seconds, and gives audiences a full view of the dinosaurs for the first time. It is also one of the few non-predatory dinosaurs that the original movie shows close-up when it sneezes over Lex, and actually interacts with the human characters without hunting them.

As the herbivorous Brachiosaurus lived during the Jurassic Period, it was a scientifically accurate addition to Jurassic Park. Other Brachiosaurus were later shown to be living wild on Isla Sorna in Jurassic Park III and Isla Nublar in the animated Jurassic Park spin-off series, Camp Cretaceous. The dinosaur has become a fan-favorite over time, likely due to its peaceful interactions with the human characters. When Fallen Kingdom director J. A. Bayona confirmed that one of its most emotional scenes showed the original Jurassic Park Brachiosaurus being left behind to die on the island, the scene became doubly tragic.

Ceratosaurus

The Ceratosarus Has Proven Itself In Jurassic World III & Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous

Though the Ceratosaurus would have fit in with Hammond's dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, it did not appear in the Jurassic Park series until Jurassic Park III. The Ceratosaurus looks terrifying as it emerges from the darkness, but its brief appearance lasts for less than a minute. Although it is a cousin to the formidable Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus is revealed to be less of a threat than it first appeared to be. Ceratosaurus looks unusual - even improbable - with his nose horn and bright red coloring. However, though Jurassic Park includes both real and made-up dinosaurs, Ceratosaurus is based on a real dinosaur.

While Ceratosaurus did not get a chance to feature heavily in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, its distinctive appearance made it memorable. A Ceratosaurus appears regularly in Camp Cretaceous in a more frightening role. Ceratosaurus often attacks the central characters in Camp Cretaceous, but one is later killed by the hybrid dinosaur, Scorpios Rex. It might be surprising that Hammond would have overlooked such a distinctive dinosaur when choosing exhibits for Jurassic Park. Because the Ceratosaurus appears on the Isla Sorna storage and research island, it may have factored into his long-term plans for the park.

Dilophosaurus

The Real Dilophosaurus Is Very Different From The Movie Version

Dilophosaurus's role in a key Jurassic Park scene was teased early in the dinosaur car tour when the voiceover guide can be heard in the background saying that Dilophosaurus was poisonous and "a beautiful but deadly addition to Jurassic Park." Though its scenes in the Jurassic Park movies feature its brightly-colored frill and ability to spit poison, Jurassic Park's portrayal of the Dilophosaurus is wildly inaccurate. Both the frill and the poison-spitting were invented for Jurassic Park. As the Jurassic Park franchise later featured engineered dinosaurs, Dilophosaurus could have been used as an early example of this.

Dilophosaurus is responsible for one of Jurassic Park's most memorable deaths when it kills the double-crossing Dennis Nedry. The scene is iconic for its difference from most other Jurassic Park dinosaur kills because while other dinosaurs like the T. rex are presented as dangerous from the beginning, Dilophosaurus appears harmless at first. A relieved Nedry even makes fun of it, before the scene quickly turns to terror. Despite its unmistakable appearance and potential to be terrifying, a Jurassic Park: Dominion, when it stole the show by killing Lewis Dodgson.

Compsognathus

Deadly Things Can Come In Small Packages

The Lost World's chilling Compsognathus scenes show that the small dinosaurs can be just as deadly as the larger ones. Though the fate of the little girl attacked by Compsognathus in The Lost World's first scene is not immediately revealed, Hammond later tells the story to Ian Malcolm, explaining that she survived the attack. Although the little girl survived, some of the other characters are not so lucky. The villainous Dieter Stark dies after a prolonged attack by a pack of Compsognathus. While he dies off-screen, the river runs red, making this scene one of the more disturbing in the Jurassic Park franchise.

Dieter Stark's death in The Lost World is based on John Hammond's death in Michael Crichton's book, Jurassic Park.

Many of the original Jurassic Park trilogy's most terrifying scenes center on the biggest or most intelligent dinosaurs, like the T. rex and the Velociraptors. When Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World introduced the small but deadly pack-hunting Compsognathus, often called "Compys," it showed viewers an interesting (and at first, disarming) new dinosaur encounter. As Compsognathus lived in the Jurassic Period, including this species in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, this was a good move for both scientific accuracy and storytelling. This makes the Compsognathus' memorable (and terrifying) scenes all the more impressive.

Stegosaurus

An Iconic Dinosaur That Was Missing From The First Jurassic Park

Stegosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs, but, surprisingly, they were not in the original Jurassic Park movie. When Sarah interacts with the baby Stegosaurus in The Lost World, her sense of wonder is similar to Alan's in Jurassic Park when he first saw a dinosaur. Several herbivorous dinosaurs could have featured in this scene, but the Stegosaurus was a Jurassic Period-accurate choice. Jurassic Park's sick dinosaur should also have been a Stegosaurus rather than a Triceratops, but the dinosaur was changed for unknown reasons.

A Jurassic Park dinosaur battle between one of the scarier carnivores and a Stegosaurus could have been an exciting spectacle.

The original Jurassic Park movie rarely showed herbivorous dinosaurs defending themselves or their young against predators. Although this made the T. rex and Velociraptors appear even more formidable, it did not make use of the features that herbivorous dinosaurs had evolved. A Jurassic Park dinosaur battle between one of the scarier carnivores and a Stegosaurus could have been an exciting spectacle, especially as The Lost World showed characters like Sarah as naturalists with an attachment to certain dinosaurs. This could have raised the stakes for the human characters as well as the dinosaurs.

Apatosaurus

The Apatosaurus Deserved To Debut Before Jurassic World

Though the Apatosaurus was not featured in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, there were some memorable (and emotional) scenes for the dinosaur in Jurassic World. A T. rex slaughtered an entire herd of Apatosaurus for sport, leaving Owen, played by Chris Pratt, to comfort one as it died. A cuter scene involved a baby Apatosaurus in Jurassic World's petting zoo being hugged by a child. Though the Apatosaurus might have seemed like an obvious choice to include in Jurassic Park, there are some likely reasons why the Apatosaurus was only featured in the later Jurassic Park movies.

Apatosaurus is one of many similar-looking, long-necked species of sauropod dinosaur. When Steven Spielberg and the visual effects team chose which dinosaurs to feature in Jurassic Park, Apatosaurus might have looked too similar to a Brachiosaurus to be made. The makers and effects team behind Jurassic Park's dinosaurs would probably have wanted each dinosaur to be distinctly different to stand out in their respective scenes. As the original Jurassic Park trilogy's creative effects still look good today, the decision to spend time on creating a few truly excellent dinosaurs was likely the right choice.

Allosaurus

A Deadly Pack Hunter that Eventually Became A Much Bigger Threat

Allosaurus is fast and smart, but it is only about half the size of a T. rex. As a result, the original Jurassic Park trilogy may have overlooked the Allosaurus because, due to its looks and characteristics, it resembles a cross between a T. rex and a Velociraptor. The carnivorous dinosaur has appeared in Camp Cretaceous and the more recent Jurassic Park franchise movies, including Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but its role was small here. Allosaurus was seen running from an erupting volcano before being killed by falling magma. As such, the Allosaurus's potential has not yet been shown.

Even though it only appeared in the original trilogy in the form of a skull, the Allosaurus would have been a formidable dinosaur to exhibit in Jurassic Park. It hunts in packs, and, due to its stature and the size of its potential pack, Allosaurus could have stood a chance at breaking the electric fence that the smaller Velociraptors had been testing in Jurassic Park. Showing features found in both dinosaur species, Allosaurus might have been the best option to replace either the T. rex or the Velociraptors if the original Jurassic Park trilogy had featured only Jurassic Period dinosaurs.