The Jurassic Park franchise has entertained moviegoers for decades, and always pushed the boundaries of effects and cinematography in the process. Steven Spielberg's property returned to theaters with Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World, which became a bonafide trilogy in its own right. The three-movie arc will come to a close with Jurassic World: Dominion, which was in the midst of filming when sets around the world shut down. Trevorrow is back to direct the upcoming blockbuster, and recently teased Dominion's extensive practical effects and animatronics.
Each Jurassic movie has a difficult task to deal with: bringing dinosaurs to life. Steven Spielberg's original 1993 movie did the impossible, and every sequel that follows has continued to use cutting edge technology. The Jurassic World movies also feature a ton of stunning visual effects, although Colin Trevorrow has revealed that Dominion is actually going to have the more animatronics than its predecessors. As he put it,
We’ve actually gone more practical with every Jurassic movie we’ve made since the first one, and we’ve made more animatronics in this one than we have in the previous two.
Well, that's exciting. It looks like the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Dominion will feel especially real, as Colin Trevorrow and company are using so much animatronics and practical puppeteering. He's been teasing some of these dinos on social media, and now it's been revealed that there will be more animatronics used than either of the previous Jurassic World movies.
While the contents of Jurassic World: Dominion are currently a total mystery, it looks like the movie's cast (including the trio of OG Jurassic Park heroes) will be able to touch and interact with the dinosaurs that pop throughout its runtime. Namely because animatronics will be used so heavily, in addition to the tons of visual effects that go into each blockbuster.
In fact, Colin Trevorrow's comments from a digital Comic-Con panel went on to further explain how visual and practical effects are being used in harmony to create a sense of realism for Jurassic World: Dominion. While speaking to the animatronics used in the highly anticipated blockbuster, Trevorrow went on to explain the way they're supporting by CGI, saying:
And the thing that I’ve found, especially in working in the past couple months, is that we finally reached a point where it’s possible to… digital extensions on animatronics will be able to match the texture and the level of fidelity that, on film, an animatronic is going to be able to bring. And you didn’t use to be able to really mix them. You could really see the seams. And so that part of it is very exciting for me.
Global health issues created a unique set of challenges for Jurassic World: Dominion, including the set being shut down for a number of months. But this gap in filming also allowed for visual effects and editing to begin early, to delightful results. Because according to Colin Trevorrow himself, the threequel will use CGI to help give the animatronics a further sense of realism, combining visual and practical effects.
Jurassic World: Dominion has a lot going for it, including the return of original Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. The twist ending of Fallen Kingdom saw the surviving dinosaurs from Isla Nublar freed and living among us, which should result in chaos around the world. We'll just have to see what twist Colin Trevorrow has in store, and how the dinos are ultimately brought to life on the big screen.
Jurassic World: Dominion is currently expected to arrive in theaters on June 11th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
