One thing that was noticeable in the transition between Jurassic World and its follow-up Fallen Kingdom was an increase in the use of animatronics. Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park and its sequels remain among the high-water-mark for smartly blending CGI with lifelike practical effects, and it seems Colin Trevorrow is deploying even more in the way of dino animatronics for the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion. Speaking to Collider earlier this year, he said: “We’ve actually gone more practical with every Jurassic movie we’ve made since the first one, and we’ve made more animatronics in this one than we have in the previous two.”
Now we have a fresh glimpse of one of those practical effects – a set of behind-the-scenes pics includes a shot revealing that the squeaky little Compys, or Compsognathus, to give them their full name, will return in Dominion. (Scroll along to the middle image to see them.)
They might look cute, but the Compys proved deadly in numbers in The Lost World, and popped up briefly to nibble at Rafe Spall in Fallen Kingdom. The other new pics reveal a fresh look at, er, Chris Pratt’s back, walking into a dense forest along with someone who looks to be a new character, and there’s one of a tent showing different entrances for different members of staff. That’s because these images also debuted in a New York Times article about Dominion’s Covid-19 safety measures. As one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters to pick up production again after halting amid the initial outbreak, its groundbreaking protocols are being watched closely as a test run for how other similarly large-scale movie shoots could work safely in future.
There’s still no official imagery yet of the original trio of returning Jurassic Park stars – Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern – on set, but Neill recently confirmed that he’s putting his Dr. Alan Grant hat back on (literally) for the shoot, and Dern shared a tantalising BTS shot sure to get original Park fans very excited about what’s to come. Jurassic World: Dominion is currently set to arrive in UK cinemas from 21 June 2021 – here’s hoping it can hold on to that date as production continues.