Jurassic World: Dominion director Colin Trevorrow shares world's fascination with dinosaurs cannot be underestimated
Original Jurassic cast members (from left) Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern join Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Isabella Sermon and DaWanda Wise for the epic conclusion in the Jurassic World franchise
After countless film and TV projects were put on hold, or delayed, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, few have been more anticipated than Jurassic World: Dominion.
Set seven years after the first Jurassic World film, and almost 30 years since the events of the original Jurassic Park unfolded, Dominion promises fans both young and old will walk away satisfied after watching what has been dubbed “the epic conclusion to a story 65 million years in the making”.
Dominion follows on from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) continue their efforts to protect dinosaurs, which now cohabitate the planet with humans.
Listen to Popcorn Podcast’s review of Jurassic World: Dominion
But, of course, there are those who want to use the science behind the prehistoric giants for nefarious reasons. And it’s this sub-plot which serves as the reason for Dominion writer and director Colin Trevorrow to bring back the iconic cast from the OG Jurassic Park films: Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.
“The characters from the original trilogy would have been aware of the events that unfolded in the first two Jurassic World films, so we wanted to set up a scenario where it would just feel organic, natural and believable that they would return,” Trevorrow says during a global press conference attended by Popcorn Podcast.
The filmmaker also says he was mindful about how he approached bringing back the beloved characters of palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant (Neill), paleobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler (Dern) and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Goldblum), and shares he spent time with each of the actors during lockdown to ensure they were happy with how their characters’ stories were developed.
“I did a lot of listening and I worked with Laura, Sam and Jeff to find out how they felt about their characters and where they felt this should go,” he says. “We worked so closely on all of this, so you’re not getting a movie from me, it is really a movie from everyone.”
Colin Trevorrow in the director’s chair with a pyroraptor
While Fallen Kingdom is arguably considered the worst of the Jurassic World spin-off trilogy (as was the third instalment in the Jurassic Park films), the Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) cloned girl storyline has been retconned for Dominion in a way that is more plausible and should leave viewers – maybe not satisfied – but content in how they lay it to rest.
But despite minor hiccups in the storyline, and a menial plotline for Dallas Howard and Pratt’s characters, the return of Dern, Neill and Goldblum, and the addition of popular new character Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) should be enough to make up for it – with the film even giving a nod to their characters’ costumes from the original.
For any die-hard fans of the original Jurassic Park, there are also some scenes in Dominion which mirror iconic moments from the 1993 film in a way that will make you say: “Hey, I see what they did there... nice”.
Naturally, the dinosaurs are the real stars of Dominion, as Owen Grady’s special relationship with Blue the velociraptor continues, with the introduction of new menacing monsters in the form of giganotosaurus (a bigger threat than the mighty tyrannosaurus rex); a winged quetzalcoatlus that gives nervous flyers an even bigger reason to be anxious; and the pyroraptor, which is a nod to recent studies suggesting some species of dinosaur were feathered with really, really big talons (just as deadly and not to be messed with).
The dinosaurs are the real star of the show in Jurassic World: Dominion
“If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from my time working on these films, it’s that you cannot underestimate the world’s fascination with dinosaurs,” Trevorrow says.
“There’s something about them that’s different from monsters or kaiju or any other fantastical creature – people all around the world feel a real connection to them and it must be because of our shared history on this planet, the fact we know they once walked this Earth, their bones are in the ground.
“There's something really meaningful about that, it’s an extremely rare gift that with all the different cultures around the world, there is something like this that can connect us all.”
