JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION

[Flaffy]

I'm kind of disappointed that the prologue won't be shown before the film starts.
It's pretty much the only time we ever see dinosaurs acting as animals in the Jurassic World franchise (minus the obligatory big theropod dual of course), and would've be a breath of fresh air for general audiences who have been accustomed to the cartoon characters seen in the two JW movies so far. The titanosaur + pterosaur scene was fantastic.

[Faelrin]

@Reuben03 Not at all. Here (in spoilers because it has key plot points I guess):

Spoiler

"Initially we had considered that this would be part of the film," he says of the five-minute prologue, which now stands alone as a short film rather than being part of the final cut of Jurassic World Dominion. It's a novel way to get these scenes out into the world, rather than leave them on the cutting room floor.

"It's extremely important for me, as a storyteller, because I believe the dinosaurs are characters, and so this is the origin story for the T-Rex," he says. "I wanted it to be told, and so Universal was totally down with experimenting with sharing five minutes of finished move as a 'prologue' six months in advance."

[close]

Further down he also says this:

Spoiler

That feathered tyrannosaurus is an important character in the legacy of Jurassic Park; one day its DNA will be reconstructed used to create a living, breathing T-Rex in the year 1993. "It's an origin story, in the way we might get to do in a superhero film," says Trevorrow. "The T-Rex is a superhero for me. It really allows us to take this brilliant concept that [Jurassic Park author] Michael Crichton conceived, that is the foundation that all of this has been built on, and show it in its absolutely purest form."
"As you'll see in this prologue, our T-Rex - and it's the exact same one - looks a little bit different now whatever gaps existed in her genome had to be bridged. We didn't want it to be unrecognisable, this is a heroic character  we love and care about very much, but it allowed us to give context to what those 65 million years really represent in world history."
The prehistoric segment of the prologue ends with a showdown between the tyrannosaurus and the giganotosaurus. "The drama between these two characters is as if they were circling lions," says Trevorrow. "The fight is mercifully short, as often fights in nature are. We watched a lot of nature videos for this movie. Hopefully the audience won't like seeing the T-Rex die. I hate it, it's painful for me, it's a character that I love. I don't mind if you hate the giganotosaurus!"

[close]

And as he mentioned him, I really wonder what he would think about this whole franchise if he was still around? In fact I also wonder how he reacted to JPIII if at all. I'll try to reserve judgement until I see the final film, but honestly this whole trilogy is starting to feel like fan fiction that got green-lit and with a major budget behind it. The original vision just isn't there anymore, and well of course not. The man who started it all has been tragically lost to us all anyways.

Also forgot to mention earlier that some of these animals will be returning to the film as well:

Spoiler

"In this movie we really get to show some dinosaurs that I love that we've been holding onto for a long time, knowing we had the chance to go back to the cretaceous period and see the oviraptor and the giganotosaurus," he says. "Several of these are going to play major roles in the film itself."
"I really like the moros intrepidus, a very recently discovered dinosaur," notes Trevorrow. "It looks a little bit like a T-Rex, but it's [much smaller]. It's in the movie too, but we're introducing it [in the prequel]. I like small dinosaurs, maybe because as a kid I imagined having one as a pet. I love that we managed to take something that really was discovered months earlier. We saw an article about it, we looked into it, and we were able to put it into the movie."

[close]

[Reuben03]

@Reuben03 Not at all. Here (in spoilers because it has key plot points I guess):

Spoiler

"Initially we had considered that this would be part of the film," he says of the five-minute prologue, which now stands alone as a short film rather than being part of the final cut of Jurassic World Dominion. It's a novel way to get these scenes out into the world, rather than leave them on the cutting room floor.

"It's extremely important for me, as a storyteller, because I believe the dinosaurs are characters, and so this is the origin story for the T-Rex," he says. "I wanted it to be told, and so Universal was totally down with experimenting with sharing five minutes of finished move as a 'prologue' six months in advance."

[close]

Further down he also says this:

Spoiler

That feathered tyrannosaurus is an important character in the legacy of Jurassic Park; one day its DNA will be reconstructed used to create a living, breathing T-Rex in the year 1993. "It's an origin story, in the way we might get to do in a superhero film," says Trevorrow. "The T-Rex is a superhero for me. It really allows us to take this brilliant concept that [Jurassic Park author] Michael Crichton conceived, that is the foundation that all of this has been built on, and show it in its absolutely purest form."
"As you'll see in this prologue, our T-Rex - and it's the exact same one - looks a little bit different now whatever gaps existed in her genome had to be bridged. We didn't want it to be unrecognisable, this is a heroic character  we love and care about very much, but it allowed us to give context to what those 65 million years really represent in world history."
The prehistoric segment of the prologue ends with a showdown between the tyrannosaurus and the giganotosaurus. "The drama between these two characters is as if they were circling lions," says Trevorrow. "The fight is mercifully short, as often fights in nature are. We watched a lot of nature videos for this movie. Hopefully the audience won't like seeing the T-Rex die. I hate it, it's painful for me, it's a character that I love. I don't mind if you hate the giganotosaurus!"

[close]

And as he mentioned him, I really wonder what he would think about this whole franchise if he was still around? In fact I also wonder how he reacted to JPIII if at all. I'll try to reserve judgement until I see the final film, but honestly this whole trilogy is starting to feel like fan fiction that got green-lit and with a major budget behind it. The original vision just isn't there anymore, and well of course not. The man who started it all has been tragically lost to us all anyways.

Also forgot to mention earlier that some of these animals will be returning to the film as well:

Spoiler

"In this movie we really get to show some dinosaurs that I love that we've been holding onto for a long time, knowing we had the chance to go back to the cretaceous period and see the oviraptor and the giganotosaurus," he says. "Several of these are going to play major roles in the film itself."
"I really like the moros intrepidus, a very recently discovered dinosaur," notes Trevorrow. "It looks a little bit like a T-Rex, but it's [much smaller]. It's in the movie too, but we're introducing it [in the prequel]. I like small dinosaurs, maybe because as a kid I imagined having one as a pet. I love that we managed to take something that really was discovered months earlier. We saw an article about it, we looked into it, and we were able to put it into the movie."

[close]

Awesome!! ty so much. this is good news bc i do not like that prologue  LOL

[Carnoking]

One little detail I picked up on is how the opening returns to Chaos Theory through nature (rather than human error/intervention) once again, something we haven't seen a lot of since the hurricane derailed Nedry's plans in the original park and the whole idea of the dinosaurs finding a way to breed.

Spoiler

When the Giganotosaurus and T. rex fight, the rocks begin to crumble beneath the Giganotosaurus but hold, only to give out under the rex in a fatal step. The mosquito then feeds on the blood, and 65 million years later, this results in a massive attack on a drive in. Had the rocks given out for the Giganotosaurus, or held entirely, then we might have had a different outcome. "That's chaos theory."
Anyway, thanks for letting me have a nerdy little moment there

[close]

[Reuben03]

One little detail I picked up on is how the opening returns to Chaos Theory through nature (rather than human error/intervention) once again, something we haven't seen a lot of since the hurricane derailed Nedry's plans in the original park and the whole idea of the dinosaurs finding a way to breed.

Spoiler

When the Giganotosaurus and T. rex fight, the rocks begin to crumble beneath the Giganotosaurus but hold, only to give out under the rex in a fatal step. The mosquito then feeds on the blood, and 65 million years later, this results in a massive attack on a drive in. Had the rocks given out for the Giganotosaurus, or held entirely, then we might have had a different outcome. "That's chaos theory."
Anyway, thanks for letting me have a nerdy little moment there

[close]

damn ok i like that

[stoneage]

   This just makes me wish for an updated Walking With Dinosaurs series. 

[Dynomikegojira]

Glad I didn't waste $15 to watch F9 after just to see this and while I clearly disapprove of the various inaccuracies and have to open about that I really do love this prologue and I hope we'll get a film that will entirely be set in the past.

[Reuben03]

  This just makes me wish for an updated Walking With Dinosaurs series.

YES ahh im desperate for that. if only!!!

[MLMjp]

Woke up this morning, ate breakfast, took a shower and watched the prologue.

I really enjoy it. In spite of everything that is wrong with it in scientific regards and the implications that it has. It gave me some feels.

Spoiler

I loved the Nasutoceratops part, specially those ones taking a bath, that was so cute and funny. The design of the new creatures like Dreadnoughtus, Quetzalcoatlus, Oviraptor and Moros are fine for Jurassic World standards.

The Giganotosaurus. For me there is only two things I don´t like about it. First one is about its design and it that ridge on it´s back. The skull shape is fine(it resembles some recent skull reconstructions). I don´t mind the oversized crests and even the large scutes over it´s back are "acceptable", is just that raised part on its back that is annoying, thats the only thing. The other thing are its roars, they felt Indominus-like. The franchise has always manage to create iconic roars for every creature, and I ain´t feeling that with the Giga. The good thing, we haven´t heard its full "big and loud" roar yet so we will see when the movie comes out.

The present part. Love it, no complains. Rexy is just confused, lost and stressed. Also, this is probably the best she has ever looked since the first film.

[close]

Maybe is because I have already accepted that they are going to do whatever the f@%" they want in regards of their dinosaur designs and what is historically/scientifically accurate. I just want the movie to be good in "movie terms". I want to come out of the theater euphoric like with the first JW, or at least satisfied, and not with that mixed feeling that later turned into realizing I watched something enjoyable but bad, that I had with Fallen Kingdom.

[Gwangi]

Alright, I've watched the prologue a few times and here are my thoughts. To start off, I do find the anachronism disappointing, and also unnecessary. This prologue could have featured dinosaurs from the Hell Creek formation with little effect to its overall goal. Obviously if you want Rexy to be killed by another large theropod it requires some tweaking but there's no good reason to have the other dinosaurs featured here, living together. Also disappointing are the anatomical inaccuracies that could have been avoided. All that said, it's a movie and I can't be bothered to get too upset about it. When it comes to accuracy in these movies I feel rather blasé about it at this point. Trevorrow definitely put his foot in his mouth promoting this film as being accurate like he did. He shouldn't have said anything about it at all.

Now, what I did like about the prologue. It's well animated, well shot, and shows dinosaurs behaving like animals which I always appreciate. It reminds me of that little bit we got at the end of The Lost World where is shows the T. rex family reunited, one of my favorite scenes from the entire franchise.

The pterosaurs look fantastic! These are easily the best pterosaurs ever put to screen, except perhaps those from the Walking with Dinosaurs movie. Pterosaur inaccuracies tend to get overlooked. I love the way the smaller pterosaurs are flocking along the waterway, like flamingos, and how the Quetz comes flying in. I love the nesting pterosaurs on the cliff face.

I love seeing the Nasutoceratops, it's one of my favorite ceratopsians and I'm happy to see it featured in the JW universe. The Oviraptor, despite its inaccuracies, moves and behaves in a realistic way. I have no real issue with it eating eggs, they probably did eat them but yes, it's a trope. I'm happy to finally have feathered dinosaurs in the franchise.   

The only dinosaur I didn't like was the Giganotosaurus, I actually prefer the look of the Indominus. The Giga looks especially ridiculous when compared to the otherwise more lifelike dinosaurs presented in the prologue. It's too monstrous and villainous looking to be taken seriously as a real animal. That said, I can live with it.

Everything set in the present day looked great. I love the drive-in setting, I love that the rex isn't being depicted as a monster but as a confused and scared animal. No complaints.

Overall, despite inaccuracies, I feel like the prologue was a fun little short film in its own right. It reminds me of the opening to The Land Before Time and Disney's Dinosaur, as well as that scene from The Lost World and the "moving in herds" scene from Jurassic Park. Dinosaur obsessed kids will eat this up, I certainly would have. I don't worry about movies teaching people the wrong information, they exist to entertain. It's unfortunate but I always figured that if the movie generates real interest in a topic than it's a success regardless of what it gets wrong. How many paleontologists, scientists, film makers, special effects artists, and writers did the original Jurassic Park spawn? How much interest in dinosaurs and museums and science did it generate? The long term positive impacts of these movies outweighs their shortcomings, I think. This prologue will hopefully capture the imagination of and inspire the next generation of scientists, artists, and film makers. For that kind of tradeoff I can deal with anachronistic dinosaurs and a scantily feathered Oviraptor.

[suspsy]

Looks like trash, but I knew that already.

And no, the Jurassic Park fandom is not bigger than the general palaeontology fandom.

Yeah nah calling BS on that

You can call as much as you want, but that won't magically manufacture truth. The general palaeontology fandom existed for generations before 1993. It's always funny when people try to claim that enthusiasm for dinosaurs only began with Jurassic Park.

[Faelrin]

@MLMjp

Spoiler

Well the Indominus rex did have some Giganotosaurus in its DNA so I thought the similar sounds were a nice touch and callback. But hopefully it has some new iconic ones as well.

[close]

[Libraraptor]

Looks like trash, but I knew that already.

And no, the Jurassic Park fandom is not bigger than the general palaeontology fandom.

Yeah nah calling BS on that

You can call as much as you want, but that won't magically manufacture truth. The general palaeontology fandom existed for generations before 1993. It's always funny when people try to claim that enthusiasm for dinosaurs only began with Jurassic Park.

It did not begin with Jurassic Park. It began much, much earlier with people like Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, Gideon Mantell and others generating public interest in a "bone-dry" subject.  In my opinion, Jurassic Park created a new interest in palaeontology and boostered the love of some old fans for the subject. Moreover, I think this discussion is idle and leads to nothing. There are intersections between palaeontology and JP movies merch fandom, so what?!

As for me, I was a dinosaur enthusiast long before Jurassic Park.

[dragon53]

Seven new dinosaurs in DOMINION.


LINK: https://screenrant.com/jurassic-world-3-trailer-new-dinosaur-species-explained/

[Carnoking]

Alright, I've watched the prologue a few times and here are my thoughts. To start off, I do find the anachronism disappointing, and also unnecessary. This prologue could have featured dinosaurs from the Hell Creek formation with little effect to its overall goal. Obviously if you want Rexy to be killed by another large theropod it requires some tweaking but there's no good reason to have the other dinosaurs featured here, living together. Also disappointing are the anatomical inaccuracies that could have been avoided. All that said, it's a movie and I can't be bothered to get too upset about it. When it comes to accuracy in these movies I feel rather blasé about it at this point. Trevorrow definitely put his foot in his mouth promoting this film as being accurate like he did. He shouldn't have said anything about it at all.

Now, what I did like about the prologue. It's well animated, well shot, and shows dinosaurs behaving like animals which I always appreciate. It reminds me of that little bit we got at the end of The Lost World where is shows the T. rex family reunited, one of my favorite scenes from the entire franchise.

The pterosaurs look fantastic! These are easily the best pterosaurs ever put to screen, except perhaps those from the Walking with Dinosaurs movie. Pterosaur inaccuracies tend to get overlooked. I love the way the smaller pterosaurs are flocking along the waterway, like flamingos, and how the Quetz comes flying in. I love the nesting pterosaurs on the cliff face.

I love seeing the Nasutoceratops, it's one of my favorite ceratopsians and I'm happy to see it featured in the JW universe. The Oviraptor, despite its inaccuracies, moves and behaves in a realistic way. I have no real issue with it eating eggs, they probably did eat them but yes, it's a trope. I'm happy to finally have feathered dinosaurs in the franchise.   

The only dinosaur I didn't like was the Giganotosaurus, I actually prefer the look of the Indominus. The Giga looks especially ridiculous when compared to the otherwise more lifelike dinosaurs presented in the prologue. It's too monstrous and villainous looking to be taken seriously as a real animal. That said, I can live with it.

Everything set in the present day looked great. I love the drive-in setting, I love that the rex isn't being depicted as a monster but as a confused and scared animal. No complaints.

Overall, despite inaccuracies, I feel like the prologue was a fun little short film in its own right. It reminds me of the opening to The Land Before Time and Disney's Dinosaur, as well as that scene from The Lost World and the "moving in herds" scene from Jurassic Park. Dinosaur obsessed kids will eat this up, I certainly would have. I don't worry about movies teaching people the wrong information, they exist to entertain. It's unfortunate but I always figured that if the movie generates real interest in a topic than it's a success regardless of what it gets wrong. How many paleontologists, scientists, film makers, special effects artists, and writers did the original Jurassic Park spawn? How much interest in dinosaurs and museums and science did it generate? The long term positive impacts of these movies outweighs their shortcomings, I think. This prologue will hopefully capture the imagination of and inspire the next generation of scientists, artists, and film makers. For that kind of tradeoff I can deal with anachronistic dinosaurs and a scantily feathered Oviraptor.

Very well said, especially that last part!

[DinoToyForum]

My brief thoughts:

Spoiler

The first few seconds, the still shots of landscapes and the evocative soundtrack, are excellent. The first few prehistoric animal scenes are nice but a bit cliche. The battle between the two theropods is silly. The dinosaur being chased through the woods by helicopters and causing havoc when it encounters people and cars is tired and uninspired, fundamentally we've seen it all before.

[close]

[dragon53]

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION---DOMINION begins where The Prologue, which is not in the movie, ends. Colin Trevorrow said The Prologue hints at the franchise's future, "The arc was in the second film, their home was destroyed. And then they're left wandering, they're left nomadic and by the end of the third film, they are able to, I don't want to say that the ending is, but, we're forced to have to learn how to coexist with them in a way that we coexist with other animals on the planet. It doesn't mean that they're like going to Starbucks or anything or on the streets in the city. There are lions and if you go out and get too close to a lion, it's going to eat you up, but it's not a threat to you in your daily life. And I feel like there's a much more grounded way to integrate dinosaurs into our world that it really does feel like it's what would actually happen."

[Faelrin]

So more of what we saw in BaBR essentially, which isn't too surprising. I wonder if any of the elements from the JWE 2 campaign will have ties to the film, aside from the Fish and Wildlife service (although worth pointing out that the movie design that was briefly seen in the Prolouge was inconsistent from the design used in the game, and both are different from the real thing), such as:

Spoiler

having the dinosaurs find sanctuary within Yosemite National Park

[close]

although it's possible that's just a game plot point only.

[GojiraGuy1954]

So more of what we saw in BaBR essentially, which isn't too surprising. I wonder if any of the elements from the JWE 2 campaign will have ties to the film, aside from the Fish and Wildlife service (although worth pointing out that the movie design that was briefly seen in the Prolouge was inconsistent from the design used in the game, and both are different from the real thing), such as:

Spoiler

having the dinosaurs find sanctuary within Yosemite National Park

[close]

although it's possible that's just a game plot point only.

Yeah I would consider JWE and JWE2 noncanon

[bone crusher]

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION---DOMINION begins where The Prologue, which is not in the movie, ends. Colin Trevorrow said The Prologue hints at the franchise's future, "The arc was in the second film, their home was destroyed. And then they're left wandering, they're left nomadic and by the end of the third film, they are able to, I don't want to say that the ending is, but, we're forced to have to learn how to coexist with them in a way that we coexist with other animals on the planet. It doesn't mean that they're like going to Starbucks or anything or on the streets in the city. There are lions and if you go out and get too close to a lion, it's going to eat you up, but it's not a threat to you in your daily life. And I feel like there's a much more grounded way to integrate dinosaurs into our world that it really does feel like it's what would actually happen."

Yeah I really love this idea of integrating dinosaurs into the natural habitat, it would add so many layers for story telling, development, actions, politics and what not, the opportunity for sequels is endless by building on that foundation. I do wonder what kind of biomes T.Rex would thrive in tho.