The wheel of movie releases continues to spin and release dates continue to be pushed back as the future of cinemas remains in question. The biggest theatrical delay in recent days is the one given to Jurassic World: Dominion, which is now set to release in June of 2022. This news came just before it was revealed there had been some positive coronavirus tests on the set of the movie, which has now forced a shutdown of production for at least two weeks. This is certainly not great news, but Bryce Dallas Howard is speaking out in support of director Colin Trevorrow and the production overall for taking these necessary steps.
As frustrating as it likely is for everybody involved to see production shutdown, nobody wants to see people getting sick from this virus either. One has to believe that there were plans in place for how to handle exactly this eventuality, and Bryce Dallas Howard posted to Instagram to show her support for the film. She believes the shutdown was the right call, even though she's also quite excited about people getting to see this movie. According to Howard...
So grateful to Colin Trevorrow and the entire Jurassic family for prioritizing health and safety above all else. Looking forward to finishing this up strong — I’ve never been more excited for a movie in my life.
According to director Colin Trevorrow, who originally revealed that there were "a few positive coronavirus tests" on the set, those people who tested positive initially all tested negative shortly after, and so it's even possible there was an issue with false-positive tests, but regardless the protocol is to shut down the set for two weeks so that's exactly what is happening.
Jurassic World: Dominion is the second blockbuster level movie to need to close down for two weeks following a positive test. The Batman had to do the same after somebody, reportedly lead Robert Pattinson, tested positive. That movie shut down as planned and then restarted again two weeks later without any apparent long-term issues.
While actual production is likely taking longer than previously planned due to the various new health and safety standards, it sounds from Bryce Dallas Howard's comments here that shooting may be very close to being done. And with the new release date putting the movie almost two years away, there will be plenty of time to handle any reshoots and to work on post-production, an area that the pandemic has already allowed the film to get started on.
Waiting an additional year for Jurassic World: Dominion will certainly be frustrating for fans, but certainly, it's preferable to the alternative of seeing people get sick. Jurassic World: Dominion will open in theaters June 10, 2022.
