'Jurassic World: Dominion' Finally Has Feathered Dinosaurs - Here's How They Got The Details Right
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Even though Jurassic Park is undoubtedly the greatest movie about dinosaurs ever made, there are some details that have become dated as scientists have learned new things about the prehistoric creatures. Perhaps the biggest discovery since the original Jurassic Park was made is that some dinosaurs have feathers, solidifying Dr. Alan Grant's theory about why they might have behaved like giant birds when they roamed the Earth, eventually evolving into the winged creatures we know today.
Jurassic World addressed the idea that completing the gaps in the DNA sequence of prehistoric dinosaur blood resulted in creatures that looked quite different from their real-life counterparts from millions of years ago. But the franchise will give some dinosaurs a scientifically accurate look in Jurassic World: Dominion by giving them details like feathers.
We learned about all the hard work that went into creating Jurassic World: Dominion dinosaurs with feathers from director Colin Trevorrow himself.
Creating Jurassic World: Dominion Dinosaurs with Feathers
One of the first images released from Jurassic World: Dominion yesterday features a feathered velociraptor. However, these aren't dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park or Jurassic World theme parks. Instead, the image comes from Dominion's opening flashback that takes us back 65 million years to see dinosaurs with pure DNA in their natural habitat. Our reaction to the footage that will soon be playing before IMAX showings of F9 likened it to a National Geographic documentary, and that's exactly what director Colin Trevorrow was hoping for. In our interview with the filmmaker, he explained:
"If you're a dinosaur fan, that's the era that you've been imagining since you were a little kid. It was a real challenge to realize it in a way that feels tactile and alive and present, and not just like a bunch of computers rendering as quickly as they can. ILM was up to it and our animators, and everybody took it on. They were just as excited about it as I was, and I think you got to feel the love that was put into it."
Jurassic Park is praised to this day for not only having impressive practical effects that brought the dinosaurs to life, but still-impressive computer generated imagery that was created all the way back in 1993. There are shots of digital dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that look better than some VFX in major blockbusters today. But it sounds like this opening sequence effectively and impressively brings the natural habitat and existence of dinosaurs to life. How did they do it?
They Blinded Me With Science
Colin Trevorrow didn't merely rely on concept artists to come up with how these scientifically accurate dinosaurs would appear on screen. He consulted one of the foremost experts on dinosaurs in order to make sure these "new" versions of the prehistoric creatures looked just right. Trevorrow explained:
"Steve Brusatte, who is an amazing paleontologist, started with us on this movie, and then we have Jack Horner who's been with us all the other movies. Steve specifically wrote a book that came out a couple years ago that's become the new standard for paleontology. He knew we were going to do feathers in the movie—we hadn't done that before. And so I went up to Edinburgh where he is and sat with him and was like, 'Look man, we're going to go for it.' There are dinosaurs with feathers, not just in the short but in the movie as well, and so we wanted to get it exactly right."
By showing these dinosaurs in this opening sequence, it gives dinosaur lovers the accurate representation of these prehistoric creatures that they've wanted to see in movies for a long time. It also allows the filmmakers to continue with the dinosaurs that fans love from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises.
For more on the upcoming Jurassic World sequel, be sure to check out our reaction to the upcoming preview footage that will be playing exclusively with IMAX showings of F9. Plus, read our full interview with director Colin Trevorrow about the film.
Jurassic World: Dominion arrives in theaters exactly one year from today on June 10, 2022.