Jurassic Park 4 - The dinosaurs return!

Everyone’s favorite franchise about a dinosaur infested island is coming back for a fourth installment. While some may roll their eyes at this due to the third installment getting less-than-stellar reviews, I, for one, am excited. No, I wasn’t too crazy about Jurassic Park 3 either, but maybe that’s why I’m anticipating a return so much.

The first Jurassic Park came out in 1993 and garnered immense popularity. Since its release, the film has grossed a little less than one billion dollars, making it the eighth highest-grossing feature film, a list which has been led by Titanic for quite some time. Damn you, James Cameron!

The Lost World: Jurassic Park hit theaters on May 23rd, 1997 and broke several box office records. It had the highest opening weekend at the time, as well as the highest single day box office record. Also, at the time, it was the sixth highest-grossing feature film.

Jurassic Park 3 (or III, if you want to make a big deal about it) opened in theaters in 2001 to mixed reviews. Although it was a box office success, overall it grossed less than the first two installments. Fans complained that it was nothing more than an attempt to milk the series, as neither director Steven Spielberg, screenwriter David Koepp, or composer John Williams returned.

Jurassic Park 4 has been in “production hell” since 2002. At one point Sam Neil was attached to reprise his role as Dr. Alan Grant, but as of March 2007 he’s denied his involvement. Joe Johnston, the man who directed the third installment, is said to be helming this one as well. Fortunately for fans, Spielberg seems to be more involved with the movie’s production, and the lack of progress is supposedly due to him being unhappy with all of the script treatments so far.

Translation: Jurassic Park 4 isn’t going to be out for a while, but it looks like it might just be worth the wait.