Here's The Best Order To Watch Jurassic Park & Jurassic World Movies

There are now two trilogies, two animated spinoffs, and at least four films that hinge on someone saying, "Let's go back to the island," like that's ever worked out.

If you're thinking about a rewatch — or trying to figure out which ones are actually worth your time — here's a breakdown of the best ways to watch the Jurassic saga, depending on your mood and how much nonsense you're willing to tolerate.

The Full Timeline (aka: Watch Everything, Regret Nothing)

This is the completist route. Start with Spielberg's original magic, then watch the entire franchise gradually turn into a corporate theme park metaphor that accidentally applies to itself. This order is technically correct. Spiritually? Debatable.

You go:

• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
• Jurassic Park III (2001)
• Jurassic World (2015)
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
• Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020–2022, animated)
• Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
• Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024–ongoing, animated)
• Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)

It's a lot. You will feel the dip in quality. But you'll also get the full experience: the highs, the lows, and the dinosaurs in a gothic mansion, for some reason.

The "Just the Good Stuff" Cut

Here's the brutal truth: Jurassic Park is a masterpiece, and everything after it ranges from "entertaining" to "please make it stop." So if you just want the parts that actually work — no filler, no genetic hybrids with emotional arcs — this is the trimmed-down list.

Start with the original, obviously. Then The Lost World — messy, but still Spielberg. Jurassic World earns a spot for at least trying to revive the magic. After that? Skip straight to the animated series Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory, which somehow recapture the fun without getting bogged down in plot logistics or dinosaur black markets.

• Jurassic Park (1993) — The one that still holds up.
• The Lost World (1997) — Not perfect, but Spielberg still delivers.
• Jurassic World (2015) — The first reboot had energy (and a functioning script).
• Camp Cretaceous (2020–2022) — Surprisingly fun animated chaos.
• Chaos Theory (2024– ) — Keeps the animated streak going strong.

You'll skip Fallen Kingdom, Dominion, and JP III—the ones where the script spent more time explaining logistics than showing dinosaurs.

The Grant-Sattler-Malcolm Watch

If you're here for the OG trio — Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum — and want to follow their storyline specifically, there's a watch order for that too. Start with the 1993 original, obviously. Then The Lost World, which is basically the Ian Malcolm Show. Jurassic Park III brings back Grant (plus an extremely awkward Sattler cameo). And Dominion reunites all three, even if the script forgets what to do with them.

Skip everything else unless you're dying to see Chris Pratt train raptors like they're golden retrievers.

1. Jurassic Park (1993) — Everyone's introduced.
2. The Lost World (1997) — Mostly Malcolm.
3. Jurassic Park III (2001) — Grant returns, Sattler pops in.
4. Dominion (2022) — Full reunion, even if the movie's a mess.

Dinosaurs First, Questions Later

Forget the plot. Forget the humans. You just want dinosaurs doing cool stuff. This is the purest way to enjoy the franchise: pretend it's a nature documentary where the filmmakers keep getting eaten.

You start with Jurassic Park (duh), hit The Lost World for the trailer cliff sequence, then Jurassic World for the park-goes-to-hell chaos. Yes, Fallen Kingdom makes the cut here — not because it's good, but because dinosaurs creeping around a creepy mansion in the dark is at least interesting. Rebirth might land here too, depending on how much carnage it delivers.

• Jurassic Park (1993) — Still the gold standard.
• The Lost World (1997) — More dinos, more destruction.
• Jurassic World (2015) — Park's open, chaos ensues.
• Fallen Kingdom (2018) — Dinosaurs in a mansion. Enough said.

Just... don't ask how they keep funding these parks. Or why anyone keeps going back. Or how dinosaurs take over the world and nobody seems that concerned.

Whether you want nostalgia, spectacle, or just to watch people make the same mistakes over and over again, there's a Jurassic watch order for you. Just don't expect logic. Or consistency. Or fences that work.