Summary

• Jurassic World: Fallen kingdom features a trio of pteranodons, mirroring the group seen at the end of Jurassic Park 3
• The Jurassic movies never fully explained what happened to Jurassic Park 3's pteranodons
• Fallen Kingdom's end credits creates a neat symbolism with Jurassic Park 3, acknowledging the long-running mystery

Although Jurassic World Dominion, the film's post-credits scene actually pays off a moment from 17 years earlier in the long-running franchise. Before Fallen Kingdom, the Jurassic films told largely self-contained stories, with the events of individual films rarely following on directly from what came before. As a result, this has created many unaddressed questions in the Jurassic Park series over the years – one of which was acknowledged in the J.A. Bayona movie.

Much like The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Fallen Kingdom ends with dinosaurs running rampant away from the islands that constitute the primary setting for the series. Following a disastrous dinosaur auction at the Lockwood estate, dozens of animals escaped into the nearby environment, with the film's closing scenes showing velociraptor Blue on the outskirts of a small town and a T. Rex roaring at a lion. Given Dominion's story of rampant dinosaurs upsetting the natural order, this is a precursor of what's to come. However, one concluding scene also has connections to the original Jurassic trilogy's final chapter.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's Pterosaurs Could Be The Same Ones From Jurassic Park 3

In a short after-credits clip, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom reveals a trio of pteranodons nesting on a spire in Las Vegas. Given the events of the film's finale, the implication is that the pterosaurs were part of the contingent of animals from the Lockwood estate, settling in Vegas after their incarceration. However, while this explanation makes sense – especially given how Claire, Owen, and Maisie spy three flying pterosaurs from their car window – there's also evidence connecting these animals to the creatures who originally escaped Isla Sorna at the end of Jurassic Park 3 and whose whereabouts were never revealed in the movie series.

Just as in Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic Park 3 ends with a group of three pteranodons flying over water to "new nesting grounds", as described by Alan Grant. However, while the dinosaur breakout in Fallen Kingdom is suggested to be the start of a new age, it's never explained what the ramifications were of this original escape. In fact, the fate of the first three pteranodons is an enduring mystery that the movies have never adequately answered. While it's heavily implied that the Vegas pteranodons are the same animals seen by Claire, Owen, and Maisie, there remains the possibility that they are actually Jurassic Park 3's escapees.

Jurassic Park 3's Pteranodons Could Still Be Out There

After Jurassic Park 3's ending, the franchise had a major reset with the first Jurassic World movie. While this helped reenergize the series, it also meant that many of Jurassic Park 3's ongoing mysteries, like the state of Ellie and Alan's relationship and Billy's potential recovery, were left unanswered. What happened to Jurassic Park 3's pteranodons is perhaps the most glaring example. However, while the films never mentioned the missing animals again, supplementary materials did provide a clue as to their fate.

The Masrani Global website, created to help promote the release of Jurassic World, identified Vincent D'Onofrio's character, Vic Hoskins, as "overseeing the infamous flying reptile clean-up operation over Canada in 2001". This line would suggest that the animals were successfully contained. However, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that everything went according to plan, or that the operation was actually successful – merely that it was "infamous". Given that this is the sequel trilogy's only acknowledgment of the incident, the possibility remains that the original escaped pteranodons are still at large.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's Pterosaurs Probably Aren't The Same

Although there is an outside possibility that Jurassic Park 3's pteranodons are still on the scene, or that they are in fact the same animals that feature in Fallen Kingdom's post-credits scene, the truth is that it's highly unlikely. The implication from the Masrani additional material is that the original animals have been dealt with, albeit off-screen. Additionally, the three pterosaurs that escape the Lockwood escape are prominent enough that they deserve a final cameo to wrap up their story, especially after helping dispose of Mills and his henchmen.

Nevertheless, irrespective of whether Fallen Kingdom's final three pteranodons are the same as Jurassic Park 3's, their inclusion is a satisfying tacit acknowledgment of one of the original trilogy's biggest plot holes. Even without showing the same animals, the brief scene provides the audience with an insight into what might have happened to them, irrespective of whether the full story will ever be known. It also creates a symbolic sense of closure, connecting the two films and acknowledging the franchise's extensive history. Without providing a definitive answer, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom still subtly paid off a lasting original mystery.

Source: Masrani Global