Universal digs up dinosaurs again for ''Jurassic Park IV''

They may want out, but the studio keeps pulling them back in. As a result, moviegoers will witness a fourth round of gory violence, predatory tactics, and reptilian behavior from this aging, apparently unkillable clan. No, we’re not talking about the Corleones but the velociraptors of ”Jurassic Park.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, Universal has greenlit a fourth installment of the frightening fossil franchise.

Steven Spielberg, who directed the first two movies (Joe Johnston shot the third), is on board as a producer, the Reporter says, but a dirctor of ”Jurassic Park IV” has yet to be named. Writing the script will be William Monahan, screenwriter of two upcoming historical epics that Ridley Scott plans to direct: ”Tripoli” (a 19th-century North African adventure that will reunite Scott with ”Gladiator” star Russell Crowe) and an untitled medieval drama about the Crusades.

Do viewers want another trip to the Park? According to the Reporter, the domestic gross of the original 1993 movie was $356.7 million; while the 1997 sequel grossed $229.1 million, and the 2001 three-quel grossed $181.2 million. At this rate, the fourth movie will open in 2005 and gross about $128 million, which hardly sounds profitable, given how much effects-driven spectacles like this cost to make and market. As Jeff Goldblum kept repeating in the first two movies, just because you can make something doesn’t mean you should.