Warning: SPOILERS for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous season 1.
The surprisingly dark ending of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous has an unforeseen consequence: the teenage campers who were left behind on Isla Nublar could die from the volcanic explosion that destroys the island in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The Netflix animated series is set in the same continuity as Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World, and the events of Camp Cretaceous happen concurrently with the 2015 film. But up to now, Jurassic fans didn’t know that six kids were abandoned when Isla Nublar was evacuated.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is about six young people who were the inaugural candidates for a youth-themed behind the scenes camping experience at the dinosaur theme park, which had been operating for a decade and thrilling visitors without any known incidents. Darius (Paul-Mikel Williams), Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega), Kenji (Ryan Potter), Yasmina (Kausar Mohammad), Sammy (Raini Rodriguez), and Ben (Sean Giambrone) arrived on Isla Nublar a few days before the events of Jurassic World began and they met Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) before they learned of the existence of the Indominus Rex. When the Indominus Rex breaks out of its paddock and rampages, the campers risk their lives to try to make it across the island to the south ferry and evacuate, and they witness a few key moments from Jurassic World from a different point of view.
However, the campers not only seemingly lose one of their own – Ben may have been killed when he fell out of the monorail – but all of their efforts were ultimately futile. Despite surviving attacks by the Indominus Rex, the Mosasaurus, Pteranodons, and a Carnotaurus, the kids arrived at the docks the next morning to find them deserted. The ferries were all gone and they were left behind, despite the pleas of their camp counselors, Roxie (Jameela Jamil) and Dave (Glen Powell), to turn the boat around and rescue the teens. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous season 1 ends with the young campers trapped on the island with the dinosaurs. But there’s another problem they don’t know about: Isla Nublar is doomed.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom establishes that Mt. Sibo erupts and destroys Isla Nublar in 2018. While that’s three years after the events of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, it places a ticking clock on the campers’ already dicey chances for survival. Fans know that Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) lead the Dinosaur Protection Group back to Isla Nublar as the volcano erupted in order to rescue the dinosaurs, and mercenaries took multiple species off the island to be sold at auction.
But the kids from Camp Cretaceous are never seen or heard from in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Granted, this is because the animated series was created after Jurassic World 2 and their presence on Isla Nublar is a retcon, but now that they are part of the story, the question is what happened to them? Were the campers killed before the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom or were they rescued during the three years before Mt. Sibo erupted? The Jurassic World sequel also established that mercenaries came to the island six months after the park fell in order to extract the Indominus Rex’s DNA from the Mosasaurus’ lagoon so the Indoraptor could be created. Were the campers able to escape at that point, but fans just didn’t see it at the time?
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is aimed at younger audiences but the show didn’t shy away from placing the teenage characters in mortal danger and the ending of season 1 was surprisingly bleak. While there is a comfortable 3-year window until Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom where the kids could be rescued in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous season 2 – long before Mt. Sibo erupts – but knowing that Isla Nublar will be inevitably destroyed places an ominous countdown on the campers’ lives to be saved.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is available to stream on Netflix.
Key Release Dates
Jurassic World Dominion
Release Date:2022-06-10
