'Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous' Is Returning for Season 4, but Is It Canon?

When Steven Spielberg brought the action-adventure film Jurassic Park to the big screen in 1993, fans of the flick couldn't have anticipated the blockbuster franchise the film is today. Five films later, the Jurassic Park franchise is still going strong. There's even an animated television series on Netflix called Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.

The show takes its title from the 2015 film Jurassic World and follows a group of teenagers attending a dinosaur camp on the fictional Isla Nublar. The show has four seasons and counting, but how does it fit into franchise canon, if at all? Let's investigate.

Upon the show's release in September 2020, fans could infer based on the title that Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is meant to supplement the 2015 film. Camp Cretaceous follows six teenagers who win a spot at the exclusive dinosaur camp. When the dinosaurs break free of their habitats, the teens must work together to escape the park alive.

The show references characters from the Jurassic Park franchise, and the show's first season parallels the events of Jurassic World. Camp Cretaceous takes place on the other side of the island from the action, so fans have yet to see Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) or Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) make appearances in animated form.

There is one character who makes an appearance in both animated and live-action form: Dr. Henry Wu. Dr. Wu is a biotechnologist and the chief geneticist at Jurassic Park, responsible for creating the Indominus rex dinosaur that is the primary subject of Jurassic World. In the live-action films, BD Wong reprises his role from the original Jurassic Park film in Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom, and the upcoming Dominion. In the Netflix show, Dr. Wu is voiced by Greg Chun.

Due to the overlap between the events of Jurassic World and Camp Cretaceous, it's safe to say that the events of the animated show are securely in the Jurassic Park franchise canon. Even during Season 3 of the show, the main characters continuously run into references from Jurassic World, including everyone's favorite semi-friendly raptor Blue.

Where the franchise's and the show's paths diverge is based on the events of the Season 3 finale. The film franchise's latest installment, Jurassic World: Dominion, will focus on the dinosaurs being unleashed from Isla Nublar into the world at large. The animated show has Camp Cretaceous members successfully escaping Isla Nublar and headed for Costa Rica with a dinosaur specimen implied to be on board.

Thankfully, with Jurassic World: Dominion and Camp Cretaceous Season 4 both on their way, fans won't have to wait long to discover what happens to the various dinosaur specimens and samples now that they've left Isla Nublar.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 4 premieres on Netflix on Dec. 3, 2021.