Entering "Jurassic World" , even the most die-hard fans of the Dinosaur Wild series may have a lot of questions. After all, the latest film takes place more than 20 years after the first film, and a lot has changed; there are new park owners, new attractions, and most importantly, new dinosaurs. And then there's the big question: Are Jurassic World's islands real? Sure, it's an integral part of the film franchise and familiar to all fans - but does Isla Nublar actually exist in real life?
Sorry to disappoint fans hoping to catch a glimpse of this famous region next holiday, but the answer is: not quite. Although Isla Nublar itself—a tropical island said to be about 120 miles off the coast of Costa Rica—was created specifically for the film, it is likely based on a real location: Cocos Island, also off the coast of the country nearby. Video games based on the series use the terrain of Cocos Island as a stand-in for Isla Nublar, although the film's creators have yet to confirm this connection. Is there more evidence? "Isla Nublar" means close to "Cloud Island" and Cocos Island is the only island in the region with cloud forests.
Jurassic Park fans know that in the original film, the owners of Ingenomics worked tirelessly to create a dinosaur-filled theme park on Isla Nublar. However, the scientists' work doesn't go as planned and the island becomes too dangerous for humans. The film ends with the characters boarding a helicopter and heading to safer ground, leaving the fate of the island and its inhabitants unknown. Fast forward 22 years, and Isla Nublar has become the tourist destination that the original owner of the park dreamed of. It's filled with animals, hosts thousands of visitors every day, and is extremely safe — until, of course, things go wrong, and anyone who's seen the trailer for Jurassic World knows that it inevitably will.
Unfortunately, because it's a national park, only Costa Rican park rangers are allowed to visit Cocos Island - which means your dreams of exploring movie filming locations are out of the question, at least for now. Fans will have to live through Chris Pratt and the rest of the cast of "Jurassic World " when the movie premieres on June 12 — and really, given the dangers they face, it's Is it really a bad thing?
Image: Universal Pictures (2)
