New DreamWorks and Universal animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (premiering this Friday May 24th on Netflix) is the next chapter in a franchise that has delighted and terrified generations. Executive Producers and showrunners Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley detail their latest Jurassic journey. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Scott, you did 50 episodes of “Camp Cretaceous”, which aired from 2020 to 2022. What goes into deciding, “Alright, let’s continue the “Jurassic” saga in animated form?”

Scott Kreamer: I’ll be honest, after “Camp Cretaceous”, which was so wonderful, I think Aaron and I were like, “Okay, well, we did it. We’ll move on.” It’s challenging, obviously. And then I had an idea to do more. That’s basically how it started. We told a great story. We felt we had told a story for our characters. And I had an idea about where things could go after that. I bamboozled Aaron into getting on board. It started with this little kernel of my idea and now it’s become all of our ideas.

Aaron Hammersley: I remember there being conversations near the tail end of “Camp Cretaceous” talking about if there were any opportunities to tell more of the story. In my mind I was like, “I don’t know if there’s anything else to say.” Until Scott proved me wrong, as he does on a very regular basis, which is annoying. (laughs) He found a great way in. When he pitched it to me, first I was a little skeptical because I was like, “This feels a little darker than anything we’ve ever done. Will anybody have an appetite for that?” But that also got me excited because I thought, “Hey, this is something we’ve never done before. If we can pull it off — awesome!”

JM: It is a little darker and more mature. It’s six years later with these characters. And in the first couple episodes, Aaron, it’s clear that this is an emotional journey for Darius and Ben.

AH: The big thing was seeing these characters who have been through… first bonding as this camp family from “Camp Cretaceous”, basically trauma bonding. And then there’s this event with Brooklynn and everyone is grieving. To me, the underlying question underneath this entire season is, “How are they going to recover their friendship, and how can they keep that intact as they’re also being hunted?” That was the emotional underpinning of all of this. “How are they going to work through all the grief that they now have to endure and come back together?”

SK: We were very intentional. We didn’t just want to do the, for lack of a better word, “cartoony” thing where all the kids get back together in the Pilot and they’re all on the same page, and they’re gonna go fight the bad guys. People are very different from the ages of 12 to 18. We all have those old friends that we maybe haven’t seen in a long time. And there are certain things where you pick up right where you left off, but also, especially in those ages, you change a lot. You’re now in the real world. You were kind of forced to be a family because otherwise you were gonna get eaten. What does everyone’s new world look like, and how do they come back and fit together now that they are depending on each other for their lives once again?

JM: And Scott, I like how you focus on a picture of the six of them. The memories flood back just by looking at a picture — and then seeing a person again after several years, that adds to the emotion.

SK: We really like that moment in the Pilot where Darius is looking at some home videos of his friends. There’s happiness there but it’s a little bittersweet because they’ve all gone their separate ways in the aftermath of the tragedy that’s befallen them.

JM: Six years is a long time. You guys have been working on this saga for about six years. We flashforward six years with this show. Aaron, what have you learned about yourself over these six years — working on the “Jurassic World” animated shows?

AH: I’ve learned that Scott and I, after six years, can actually remain friends, despite all of the trials that we’ve been through. (laughs)

JM: You guys have put a lot of work into this show, and Aaron, I love the cinematic nature of it — the action sequences, the intensity… when characters are driving in a vehicle and dinos are chasing them, it’s fast. It is rapid. What did you want to accomplish with the cinematic feel of “Chaos Theory”?

AH: We wanted to capture a sense of scale and scope and gravitas. We wanted to get as close to the films, particularly the original film. You mentioned that when we’re in the vehicles it’s fast and high octane. But I think the other thing we did a lot was slow a lot of things down, and I think that made those high octane moments feel even more intense because we have this wide range of letting moments breathe when they feel like they should naturally breathe.

JM: Scott, “Jurassic Park” came out in 1993 and the book was released in ’90. When you look at the source material, how does it still feel so relevant to you 30+ years later?

SK: It’s just so good. So creative. It hits you on a human level. This last weekend, “Jurassic Park” was on Peacock. My son and I watched it again, and it still delivers. I always love dinosaurs. When “Jurassic Park” came out, I saw it and then snuck into the next screening… “I’ve been waiting for this movie my entire life.” The dinosaurs are there, but like we always said with “Camp Cretaceous”, you come for the dinosaurs but you really stay for the characters. You have people to root for and can put yourself in their shoes. And there’s the closest thing to mythical creatures that we’re coming into contact with. It’s really the heart of all of that that still hits people on a universal level.

JM: With the first “Jurassic Park”, so many people were blown away by the visuals. Aaron, what’s a visual moment on this show that kinda gave you [a feeling of], “Wow! Look at this. We pulled it off. This looks incredible”?

AH: Oh man. There are a number of scenes you can point to — one being in the fourth episode with Kenji as he’s on the mountaintop overlooking this vast valley and also seeing [a dinosaur] glowing. That’s what we wanted to capture — the awe and wonder. Of course we want the terror and fear, but awe and wonder as well.

SK: This show is darker and a conspiracy thriller… but it’s still “Jurassic”, and awe, wonder and terror are huge parts of that.

JM: And the music plays into that as well, right, Scott?

SK: Yes. Leo Birenberg, our composer, who was hand-picked by Michael Giacchino to do “Camp Cretaceous”… I can’t tell you how many times we told Leo, “Well, we just need something iconic!” …for these characters or these animals, and the dude just keeps delivering. It’s a huge part of what we’re doing. Leo’s score elevates everything.

JM: About once a week now, we get headlines about a new “Jurassic” movie that’ll be coming to theaters supposedly sometime next year… maybe with Scarlett Johansson. What do you hope that a new cinematic, big screen “Jurassic” movie gives audiences?

AH: I’d love to see more species of dinos, as well as getting more into those feathered dinosaurs.

SK: Whatever moves the story forward. I’m excited to see what’s next and what a new take on it looks like while still honoring the things that we love about the franchise so much.