‘Jurassic World 2’ Release Date: Shooting Begins Under Code Name To Hit 2018 Target

Jurassic World 2 production begins soon, with the sequel to the 2015 summer smash prepping for a Feb. 2017 start date in Hawaii. That leaves plenty of time for Jurassic World 2 to hit its summer release date, June 22, 2018.

News of the scheduled beginning of principal photography for Jurassic World 2 was uncovered by Jurassic Outpost, a site that promptly crashed after several other sites picked up on the story. Reel News Hawaii seemingly confirmed the scoop on its own Twitter account, calling for locals to help out bynabbing photos from the Jurassic World set.

In an effort to thwart would-be set photographers and leakers, Jurassic World 2 will be filming under a code name (as do most films), Ancient Futures. Read into that what you wish, but it’s surely an evocative pseudonym for a movie about dinosaurs resurrected in the modern day.

But most of all, the return to Hawaii for Jurassic World 2 suggests we may be in for a more traditional Jurassic Park sequel than previously suspected. While Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow (who wrote Jurassic World 2 with writing partner Derek Connolly) has spoken at length about how the series will finally transcend its theme park roots, it seems production will return to the same Hawaiian setting as Jurassic World. Perhaps this means a return to the park, perhaps to retrieve some key piece of technology or kidnap one of Chris Pratt’s raptor soldiers? With luck we won’t be stuck in Hawaii (standing in for Costa Rica) for long.

Jurassic World 2 will be directed by J.A. Bayona (Trevorrow’s busy with Star Wars: Episode IX ), director of The Impossible, The Orphanage and the upcoming A Monster Calls.