If you’re a “Jurassic Park” fan looking for more dinosaur mayhem to enjoy before “Jurassic World: Rebirth” comes along (hopefully to rescue the lost franchise from itself), Netflix’s animation department has plenty to offer. In 2020, the streamer debuted the animated series “Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous,” a canonical spin-off series that takes place in part during the original 2015 requel feature “Jurassic World.” It follows teens who visit the park only to be put in immediate peril (shocking, we know), courtesy of its fanged attractions.
After five quick seasons, “Camp Cretaceous” took its bow in 2022, and was thus succeeded by the sequel series “Jurassic World: Chaos Theory,” set six years after the finale. Darren Barnet joined the franchise here, taking over the comedic role of pro rock climber Kenji Kon from “Big Hero Six” and “Titans” star Ryan Potter (who voiced him in the previous series). With so much to catch viewers up on from the time jump, Barnet and company had their work cut out for them when it came to continuing the story. “Kenji’s dealing with a lot,” he said of the new status quo to KIDS FIRST!. “He’s dealing with the heartbreak with Brooklynn [Kiersten Kelly, formerly Jenna Ortega], the relationship with his [estranged] father [Daniel Kon, voiced by Andrew Kishino]. He’s kind of isolated himself into this trailer in the middle of the mountains, and he’s teaching rock climbing.”
Barnet further shared that he hoped the series’ themes of teamwork, resilience, and faith in one’s friends would shine through, especially via his dynamic with Paul-Mikél Williams’ Darius Bowman. Despite the departure from the film’s cast, the characters of “Chaos Theory” are well-acted and well-written, and are just as captivating as their big-screen counterparts.