Music is an important component to setting the mood in a franchise like Jurassic World. Much like John Williams’ work on the first two Jurassic Park films, composer Michael Giacchino’s efforts in the sequel film series have inspired tears and awe in the hearts of Jurassic fans. However, as you’ll hear in this new Jurassic World: Dominion track shared by director Colin Trevorrow, the other half of the series’ spectrum of emotions, pure fear and terror, is still very much represented.
Recently, Michael Giacchino announced that he’d concluded the 10-day virtual scoring session for Jurassic World: Dominion on social media. After a little under two weeks of nursing, rehearsing and getting notes from Kermit the Frog, the entire score for next summer’s would-be blockbuster is now in the can. Which means that Colin Trevorrow can now have it playing while he’s gaming, as noted in this Instagram post:
Oh yes, Mr. Trevorrow, that Jurassic World: Dominion music does work. It works at keeping fans awake at night, wondering which dinosaur is attached to this musical signature, and why it’s moving so fast! It’s no surprise that Michael Giacchino’s music is enough to push along a moment of pure adrenaline and whip it into an even greater frenzy. And make no mistake, this music is going to kill in a movie theater.
What's even more exciting is how this, for now, untitled Jurassic World: Dominion track stacks up with Mr. Giacchino’s previous work in the series. This song seems to be building on motifs that were central to the suspenseful themes from 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. While that could be chalked up to merely good old fashioned thematic callbacks, the recurring string motif feels like a more vicious deployment of the rumbling you’ll hear in “This Title Makes Me Jurassic” from the previous score.
A lot of teases have come out of the Jurassic World: Dominion scoring sessions, as Michael Giacchino’s shown everything from special guests in his study to the return of his punny. But to get to hear a sample so early, with Jurassic World: Dominion’s theatrical release pushed to June 2022, is something absolutely stunning. Which makes it hard not to stop playing this music on repeat, and in turn, brings us to the final destination of dinosaur nightmares.
Speaking of “dinosaur nightmares,” that brings us to one final piece of Jurassic World music that still looms tall in the canon of Maestro Giacchino’s work thus far. Heard in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the theme to the Indoraptor felt like real “wrath of the gods” material. In turn, that somewhat sets the high bar for musical terror that Jurassic World: Dominion will have to clear in order to really send us running from the Rexes. In short, if Michael Giacchino has written something so terrifying for this threequel that it tops “World’s Worst Bedtime Storyteller,” we’ll preorder our night lights now.
Jurassic World: Dominion opens its gates to the world on June 10, 2022. So surely between now and then, we’ll find some time to sleep without worrying if a Velociraptor has gotten into the house. But seeing how Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ended, that’s more of a valid concern than you’d think.
