Fans of the Jurassic World franchise have had to wait a lot longer than planned for the third installment in the dino franchise, but for those that can’t wait any longer, there’s a pretty fun new website that should keep people busy for at least a while as they wait for Jurassic World: Dominion to hit theaters. And it’s even got a really fun nod to the original Jurassic Park.
In the world of Jurassic World: Dominion dinosaurs are loose in the world and so Dinotracker.com exists as a way for people to keep tabs on dinosaurs. It brings up a massive globe showing off all the hotspots of dinosaur activity. Click on a spot on the map and discover what dinosaur has been sighted in the area, how dangerous they are, and learn about the dino and what to do to avoid them or how to respond if you come in contact.
It’s a cool way to promote the upcoming movie, as an “in-universe” website, but it also has at least one really fun easter egg hidden away that references the original Jurassic Park movie. If you check out the site’s code, you’ll find a little ASCII version of Wayne Knight’s Dennis Nedry, who tried to steal dino embryos in the original Jurassic Park. It's specifically the version from his computer screen, who is apparently here to admonish you for trying to five into the site’s details.
If there are other easter eggs hidden in the site, I haven’t found them, but it certainly wouldn’t be that surprising. The more that one can find here, the more it will keep them busy while waiting for Jurassic World: Dominion to come out.
Dinotracker is sort of a throwback to another era. We used to get movies creating websites like this a lot more often and it at least feels like it doesn’t happen as much anymore. Perhaps because Jurassic World is itself a throwback to an earlier era, it doesn’t feel out of place that we would get this sort of a site, set in the universe of the film. The newer trilogy is a sequel to the original one, and Jurassic World: Dominion will even include characters from the first movie.
And there is potentially useful information about Jurassic World: Dominion in the site for those that want to find it. One assumes that the details found here are accurate to the plot of the movie. If the characters in the film travel to a specific place in the world, we know what dinosaurs Chris Pratt and company will come up against. We also know exactly how widespread the dinosaur threat has become. While there are a lot of dinosaur hotspots around the world, the good news is that most of the world appears to be safe from them. You probably don’t live in a place where dinosaurs might kill you on a daily basis. Probably.
Jurassic World: Dominion is only about a month away now, as it will hit theaters June 10.
