Jurassic World Dominion Trailer Breakdown: In Times Of Dino Crisis
Universal Pictures didn't make us wait until Super Bowl Sunday to get our first proper glimpse at "Jurassic World Dominion" as the full-length trailer for one of this summer's biggest blockbusters has arrived. It delivers on a whole lot of promises, such as reuniting the casts from both trilogies as well as showing us how chaotic things get when dinosaurs are living out in the world alongside humans. To say the least, there is a whole lot going on in this footage and we're here to take a much closer look, breaking it down bit by bit to offer a better idea of what's in store. Let's dig in.
Dinos On The Range
The trailer opens and doesn't skip a bit, with a herd of parasaurolophus stampeding through a snow-covered, wide-open range with some men on horseback chasing them down. And one of those men is none other than Chris Pratt's Owen Grady.
This gives us our first real taste of what has happened in the four years since the events of "Fallen Kingdom" with dinosaurs and humans truly having to live and interact with one another.
Apatosaurus Woodworking
Next, we get an apatosaurus who has crashed the party at what appears to be a lumber mill of some sort seemingly in the same, snow-covered region.
Here, we also get our first look at Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), AKA the clone girl from the previous movie. Also of note, we have some voiceover from John Hammond here from the original "Jurassic Park," particularly the famous table scene between him and Ellie Sattler.
Blue and Baby Blue
Now we get to something really interesting as we reunite with Blue who now has a little baby Blue with her as well. As Ian Malcolm would say, life finds a way. Despite being the last of her kind in the last movie, that is no longer the case. Not to spoil some of what's coming here in a bit but there are certainly plenty more raptors in the world as it exists now.
In The Woods
We see that Owen, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), and Maisie seem to be living off the grid in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, harboring Blue and her baby. Claire says they can't "keep her here forever," to which Owen says that if "they" find her they're never going to see her again. Who is they? Is the government hunting dangerous dinosaurs now? Is InGen involved?
Big Happy Family
We know that Owen had a major connection with Blue but it seems that he, as well as Claire and Maisie, are bonding with the baby as well. They look like a kind of nice, happy family here. Ya know, just one with a dinosaur and a parentless clone girl. Perfectly normal stuff.
Mosasaur Madness
The mosasaur from "Jurassic World" now makes a return and it is living happily in the ocean, eating well by terrorizing fishing boats. This is one of the shots that was included in the IMAX preview last year attached to screenings of "F9" last year that didn't make it into the prologue that was released online. I can confirm this looked pretty cool on the big screen.
At The Drive-In
One interesting shot is this one of the T-rex rampaging at a drive-in movie theater. It had previously been revealed that the footage from the prologue wasn't going to be in the actual movie. And this sequence was a huge part of the prologue. Perhaps returning director Colin Trevorrow simply meant the prehistoric stuff? We'll see if this actually ends up in the final cut once it hits theaters.
Hello, Ellie!
And would you look at that! After more than 20 years Laura Dern returns as Ellie Sattler, having previously played the role in "Jurassic Park," as well as a smaller borderline cameo in "Jurassic Park III." Here, she is going to have a significant role and she's reuniting with some old friends.
Alan Grant Returns!
Speaking of old friends, Ellie is paying a visit to none other than her old pal Alan Grant, once again played by Sam Neill. He looks more than a little surprised to see her here, and he is seemingly at a dig site doing his thing. It appears as though Ellie is trying to pull him into a mission or some sort, which he is a little reluctant to do. But he does indeed go along with it.
They Do Move In Herds
We get another shot of a herd of parasaurolophus out on the range running alongside horses. This really does seem to get back to the whole "life finds a way" bit as animals from millions of years ago are finding a way to engage peacefully with animals from the present day. And, not for nothing, it's a pretty good-looking shot.
Hello, DeWanda Wise
Now we catch a glimpse at DeWanda Wise's character who is seemingly the new cast member with the largest role. We don't catch her name but she appears quite a bit alongside Claire and Owen, leading me to believe she is going to be a big factor in whatever their mission ends up being. Things are left a bit nebulous in the trailer as to what is going to actually drive the story, save for the hook of dinosaurs and humans mingling in a big way.
Danger, Claire Dearing!
This sequence sees Claire running from a big, feathered dinosaur with gigantic claws that does not look at all friendly. We previously saw a still from this sequence but here, we get the larger picture, with Claire having to submerge herself in the swamp in an attempt to survive. Also, yes, it is a huge deal that we are seeing dinosaurs with feathers in the modern-day as it seems we are going to get some more scientifically accurate creatures this time around. This was hinted at in the prologue but that was 65 million years ago. This is now.
Ian Malcolm, Uh, Returns
Indeed, Jeff Goldblum is back once again as Ian Malcolm and he is very much looking like his old self. Leather jacket, black shirt, pure perfection. We also get him sounding the alarm saying that man is lacking dominion over the dinosaurs (hence, the title) implying that mankind may not maintain its place at the top of the food chain.
Henry Wu Returns
We get a brief glimpse of B.D. Wong who is once again returning as Dr. Henry Wu, one of the chief scientists who helped bring dinosaurs back to life. He is looking like he's seen better days and is rocking a shaggy head full of long hair, which is new. It will be interesting to see how he factors into the proceedings given how we left off in "Fallen Kingdom."
Atrociraptor Attack
Claire is not having an easy go of it in this movie as we see her now running from an atrociraptor in the middle of a city.
This probably won't end well especially since these raptors are even larger than what we're accustomed to.
What's This?
Here we have a shot of what appears to be some sort of structure built in the middle of the forest somewhere, presumably for the purposes of dinosaur stuff. Experimentation? Some sort of sanctuary? Also, is this on one of the other islands around Isla Nublar? Are we going to head back to Site B from "The Lost World" by chance? That might just be wishful thinking on my part but it's not out of the question.
The Thing With Features
Again, we get another raptor with feathers here and, this time, poor Owen and Wise's character are forced to face it down with nothing but a knife and a taser.
If I may; f*** yes. Absolutely f*** yes.
Ellie Does a Callback
Here, we see Ellie Sattler looking very much like her old self making a callback to the original "Jurassic Park." She looks at something off-screen in surprise, taking her glasses off very much in the same way that Alan did in the original movie when they see the very first dinosaur at the park. It all comes back around.
Kids In The Swarm
Here we have a swarm of heaven knows what chasing after a couple of really unfortunate little kids. What are these things exactly? How on Earth are these kids not going to get eaten to death by them? More questions than answers but this is one of the more puzzling moments in the whole trailer for my money.
Owen Rides Again
One of the more memorable moments from "Jurassic World" saw Owen riding his motorcycle into battle alongside the raptors. In this case, he's very much riding away from the atrociraptors that Claire was contending with earlier. But as we're about to find out they aren't the only dinos causing trouble in the city.
Must Go Faster
As soon as Owen rounds the corner we see a couple of what the internet might refer to as heckin' big boys also causing a lot of trouble in the city. One of them looks like a carnotaurus, which is bad news for people who don't want to be eaten. All in all this looks like it could be a very wild sequence.
Enjoy Your Flight
Owen, Claire, and Wise's characters are flying in a plane when things go pretty south. The plane is attacked by pterodactyls and the plane appears to be no match for this winged, prehistoric beasts.
We did get the bird cage moment in "Jurassic World" but this looks like it could be the best use of flying dinosaurs since "Jurassic Park III."
Torosaurus Traffic Jam
In another action-packed bit we see a convoy of vehicles being taken out by what appear to be some torosaurs. They seem to only have two horns, as opposed to the three a triceratops would have. That lack of a third horn does not seem to be holding them up in any way from causing maximum damage.
Maisie In Trouble
For some reason, Maisie is locked in a cage. For also unexplained reasons, that cage is about to be chomped to utter obliteration by a very hungry-looking dinosaur. My guess is they aren't going to kill the clone girl but this looks like a precarious situation, to say the very least of it.
Claire and Ellie Unite
It's hard to say what exactly is going on here but Claire and Ellie are banded together, looking concerned in a uniquely lit room. This doesn't look altogether unlike the lighting that we've seen in some of the dino labs in the franchise previously, for what that may be worth.
The Dilophosaurus Returns
Not that anyone asked, but my absolute favorite bit of the trailer is the return of the dilophosaurus, one of the most memorable dinosaurs from the original "Jurassic Park."
Here, it looks like Claire is coming face to face with one (again, she is not having an easy go of it this time around). What's particularly important is that this is definitely a practical, animatronic puppet and not a CGI creation. It looks all the better for it.
Don't Move, The Gang Is All Here
Here, we see the various generations of actors from the franchise unite for the first time, the old trilogy and the new trilogy together. Both Owen and Alan say "don't move" in another callback to "Jurassic Park" when Alan said that in reference to the T-rex, which can't see you if you don't move.
The Giganotosaurus Arrives
Turns out, they are staring down a giganotosaurus, marking the first time that the species has appeared in one of the movies. We did get to see this guy in the prologue as well so it's not too surprising that this particular dino made it into the actual movie.
Ellie, Alan, and Ian, Oh My
To wrap up, we get a nice look at the original trio reunited, as they are once again in danger together, just as they were back in 1993 when John Hammond invited them all to his ill-advised dinosaur-filled theme park. This is one heck of a nostalgia moment and the promise of seeing these three together again could make this a must-see movie even for those who didn't love the previous two entries in the series. And that's pretty much it! Lots to process and yet, many questions remain. Perhaps we'll get some more hints at the larger story when the second trailer arrives closer to the release date.
"Jurassic World Dominion" hits theaters on June 10, 2022.
From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.