Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, there were a number of projects in the works for cartoons based on the '90s sci-fi-adventure classic. Although they didn’t make it beyond their initial concepts, they still exist as a curiosity in the property’s past and offer a look at what could’ve been.
An adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name, Jurassic Park was released in 1993 and has been a multimedia giant ever since. With five sequels and multiple spinoffs, the franchise’s presence keeps growing with each installation and Spielberg's movie is still recognized for how influential it was on blockbusters that came after. Even after almost three decades, however, it wasn’t until Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Lego Jurassic World that spinoff television series were made.
The absence of TV spinoffs didn’t come from a lack of trying, however. What tanked each previous attempt to bring a spinoff series to life was the troubled production of the three animated series. Concept material tells the story of a struggle to get a few pilots off the ground and how Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous finally realizes some of those ideas first explored in the development of those failed series. Here's each canceled Jurassic Park spinoff series, explained.
Escape From Jurassic Park
In 1993, an animated sequel to the first film was pitched by artists Will Meugniot and William Stout. Known as Escape from Jurassic Park, what’s known about the series comes from a collection of concept art and a one-season outline. The story was supposed to focus on the aftermath of Jurassic Park and John Hammond’s attempt to salvage Isla Nublar. Reuniting Jurassic Park's Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Tim, and Lex, the plan was to get the island under control with the aid of a new team of “dino wranglers.” However, the series was to later shift towards the mainland after Hammond discovers poachers have been smuggling eggs for a theme park called DinoWorld. It's not quite clear why this pitch never aired, but merchandising issues and the possibility of another Jurassic Park movie may have been the causes. Later, however, the concepts of dinosaur poachers and the adventures of a younger cast on Isla Nublar became a focus in Netflix’s Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous.
Spielberg's The Lost World Spinoff Series
When new dinosaur hybrids like Camp Cretaceous’ Scorpios Rex. Still, they’re nothing compared to the nightmarish Doomsday rex that was set to appear in the animated series.
Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect
A third animated series was to coincide with a new collection of action figures titled Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect. The cartoon never made it to television, but the accompanying toy line arrived on shelves in 1998, giving insight into its premise. Set only a few years after the events of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the show would’ve featured scientists accidentally creating new animals from mismatched DNA and a technologically-enhanced team tasked to battle them. The cartoon, however, was doomed to extinction because of poor action figure sales. Although the Doomsday rex and the animated mutated dinos never got a chance, Camp Cretaceous’ Scorpios rex still lurks on Netflix and in local toy aisles, and ideas from these canceled shows are finding their way into new projects, all the same. Not unlike the fossils that inspired Jurassic Park, these canceled projects show how the concepts evolved with changing times and each pitch. While they'll probably never air, they can be appreciated as part of a close to 30-year endeavor to tell a new story in the mythos before Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
