‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Director Explains How the Movie’s Special Effects Are Different From the First 2

The latest Jurassic World movie has some similarities to the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. The latter revisited a classic fan-favorite film when it landed in theaters, and Jurassic World Dominion does the same. The finale of the follow-up trilogy connects to the very first movie as Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum of the original cast reunite. Bringing back the legacy sets Dominion apart from its two predecessors. And as director Colin Trevorrow explained, the Jurassic World Dominion‘s special effects took a different approach than the first two movies.

Colin Trevorrow returns to the director’s chair for ‘Jurassic World Dominion’

If the name wasn’t a giveaway, the Jurassic World trilogy follows in the footsteps of the Jurassic Park franchise. Steven Spielberg had a hand in delivering the first trilogy to theaters, and Trevorrow followed suit with his movies.

Trevorrow reintroduced audiences to the world of living dinosaurs with Jurassic World in 2015, which he wrote and directed. He was part of the writing team for 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but J.A. Bayona directed while Trevvorow produced. With Jurassic World Dominion, Trevorrow wears three hats: Writer, director, and producer. 

Spielberg directed the first two Jurassic Park movies, and he’s produced every Jurassic property to hit the screen since (Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World trilogy, and the TV series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous). 

Creating the dinosaurs has always been a key part of the Jurassic movies, but Dominion does special effects a bit differently.

Trevorrow reveals how ‘Dominion’s special effects are different from the first two ‘Jurassic World’ movies

As we mentioned, Dominion brings Trevorrow back to the director’s chair. Bayona directed Fallen Kingdom with Trevorrow as producer. Focusing on producing the last installment seems to have informed Trevorrow’s approach to Jurassic World Dominion’s special effects.

In a conversation for the Dolby YouTube channel, Trevorrow revealed Bayona’s work inspired how he handled the dinosaur special effects on Dominion. Those expecting 100% digital dinos should prepare themselves for something different.

“In a lot of ways, we went back to basics. There was more animatronics in this movie than there were in either of the last two Jurassic World movies. J.A. Bayona was instrumental in discovering some new methods that would allow us to blend our animatronics with our digital extensions on the animals. It wasn’t something you usually could do, but because we would have really, really accurate, hand-painted lighting references and sculpts for everything that we did, we were actually able to add moving claws and add tails and add extensions that we wouldn’t have been able to do with something robotic.”

Colin Trevorrow

Dominion’s special effects team used more robots and puppets for the film, a much different approach from the first two movies in the trilogy. Was it worth it?

Is ‘Dominion’ the last movie in the franchise, and how are the reviews?

Jurassic World star Chris Pratt and producer Frank Marshall seem to be on the same wavelength. Dominion brings the trilogy to a close, but it doesn’t mean the end of the franchise. 

In one interview, Pratt compared Jurassic World to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with its potential to continue evolving with new characters, and he left the door open for his return if the franchise moves forward. Marshall told Collider (via SyFy) that Dominion marks the start of a new era.

So is Jurassic World Dominion the last one? It seems like the people who make those decisions lean toward no.

However, we might not see another Jurassic movie rushed to theaters, either. Reviews for Dominion have been mixed at best, with Showbiz Cheat Sheet reviewer Jeff Nelson calling it the worst sequel yet. Bringing back Dern, Goldblum, and Neill doesn’t come close to rescuing the movie. 

The recent trilogy quickly felt like overkill, and the early Dominion reviews have been so-so. That might give Universal a reason to take a breather on more prehistoric projects, no matter how good the special effects are.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.