Jurassic Park is still considered a science fiction classic, but with the gates of Jurassic World: Dominion closing, another Michael Crichton novel, Micro, could be the perfect successor to the franchise. Although Michael Crichton died in 2008, his sci-fi works are still among the most adapted in Hollywood. Current titles include HBO’s Wild West World and Animated Jurassic World: Cretaceous Camp. However, one of Crichton’s latest novels presents one of the author’s greatest stories, and its adaptation may continue the adventurous horror of Jurassic Park.
After Crichton’s death, a number of his novels turned out to be unfinished, including “Micro”. In the tradition of Jack Arnold’s classic sci-fi film “The Incredibly Shrinking Man” and Steven Spielberg’s “Inner Space”, “Micro” follows a group of students who have shrunk to half an inch after uncovering a conspiracy involving the morally dubious company Nanigen Micro-Technologies. Lost in the jungles of Oahu, they must find a way to secretly shrink themselves, facing giant arthropods, microscopic mercenaries and all the dangers that arise when they are suddenly dropped to the bottom of the food chain.
Related: Jurassic Park: The Biggest Differences between a Book and a Spielberg Movie
In 2015, DreamWorks announced that a film adaptation of “Micro” was in development with the involvement of the director of “Jurassic Park” Steven Spielberg to the project. With “Jurassic World: Dominion” supposedly marking the end of its franchise after nearly three decades, this seems like the right successor to what Spielberg started with the Jurassic films. While nothing can truly compare to the original Jurassic Park movie, a similar adventure from the same creators could help fill the dinosaur-shaped crater left by the franchise. Also, with its themes, ideas and breathtaking action like a thriller, Micro could be a return to the form that has been lacking since the first Jurassic Park.
What Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film did for dinosaurs, Micro was able to do for insects, arachnids and the microscopic world, delivering the right amount of horror and surprise. There is a scene involving bats, which reflects the death of Dennis Nedry at the hands of a dilophosaurus, and the confrontation of the protagonist with a giant Hawaiian centipede resembles a tirex in Jurassic Park. Meanwhile, creatures such as cicadas and millipedes remind viewers that these are real and unusual animals, such as brachiosaurus and triceratops. Michael Crichton described Micro as a “fun” and “informative” game, directly comparing it to Jurassic Park in this regard. Also, as Spielberg adapts another Crichton story, Micro will have one of the core talents responsible for the success and iconography of the Jurassic Park franchise.
“Jurassic World: Dominion,” positioned as the “epic conclusion of the Jurassic era,” seems to have put an end to the series. While it’s unclear if the “Jurassic World” trilogy will officially end the films, between its disagreements and the reunion of the original cast to complete it, “Jurassic World: Dominion” should be the last. Whether it was because of how far the films were from the original, or because watching Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neal lead to a fitting ending again, it would be nice to close the aging gates of Jurassic Park. However, this does not mean that the adventure should end. With time and the right talent, Micro can become the next big thing in cinema. Nothing will replace the Jurassic Park series, but maybe it’s time to close the book and start a new one.
