Summer 2022 finally sees the release of Jurassic World: Dominion but as its release approaches some are wondering if director Colin Trevorrow has enough experience to handle the franchise. Following on from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Dominion is set to show us a world where dinosaurs roam somewhat freely and the US Fish and Wildlife department tracks them down. The film takes place across the world and shows the consequences of selling dinosaurs to corporations and how the general populace has to deal with invasive dinosaur species.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are set to reprise their roles from the previous movies along with original Park actors Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum. Goldblum reprised his iconic role of Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but fans' excitement was peaked when it was announced that the other original actors Dern and Neill would be coming on board for this newest installment.
When it comes to directorial experience, Trevorrow has only a few projects under his belt, one of which is the first installment of the Jurassic World series from 2015 which he again also wrote the screenplay for. Apart from that, his credits are few and far between with a couple of smaller features such as Safety Not Guaranteed and The Book of Henry which was panned by critics and audiences alike upon its release.
Aside from directing, Trevorrow has also produced and written on several Jurassic Park-related projects such as Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape, Lego Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nubar, and Lego Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. His work has expanded the universe of the movies further beyond the original book and movie series whilst also creating more younger audience-friendly Lego content.
For those worried about him helming the upcoming blockbuster, his experience working on Jurassic World-related projects should be of some comfort. He has worked with Steven Spielberg since the inception of the Jurassic World series and recently released the prologue for Dominion. The video is a 5-minute short showing us the dinosaurs in their natural habitat 65 million years ago while the back half shows the present day with a T-Rex being tracked by government officials as she approaches a drive-in movie theatre. The video also showcases a more realistic depiction of dinosaurs according to paleontologists. The MPA also just released the rating for the new installment as PG-13, which keeps in line with the previous entries.
With so little experience seemingly behind him, it's understandable that fans of the franchise are concerned with Trevorrow being given the reigns to the property. The original Jurassic Park trilogy has a place in film history as one of the greatest and most beloved series of all time. The practical effects still stand up today and were lauded at the time for their realism and inventiveness and this is part of the concern surrounding the new movies and Trevorrow being at the helm.
The Jurassic World movies are being held up and compared to the originals which is an almost impossible standard. The original films came at a time when there was nothing like them in cinema and they revolutionized aspects of filmmaking and special effects. The original Jurassic Park series also bred a whole generation of wannabe Paleontologists and made dinosaurs cool again. Not to mention giving us iconic characters, scenes, and memes that are just as popular today.
However, despite all this, there is a case for Trevorrow helming the series. He has in-depth knowledge of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World universe and has been entrenched in the series since 2015 and has worked alongside Steven Spielberg during that time. While the recent movies may not have captured the exact excitement of the original, Jurassic World still Made over $1 billion at the box office and has spawned multiple spinoff series and sequels. The newer installments also have the benefit of current technology and animation techniques which have advanced even since the release of the first Jurassic World in 2015.
There is also a historical precedent for lesser experienced directors coming on to helm huge franchises and making them incredibly successful. Before he began work on the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson had only helmed splattercore movies with his first more mainstream outing being The Frighteners. From there he went on to create Weta and make one of the most beloved fantasy series in history. Experience is not necessarily the measure of skill, especially when it comes to creative pursuits. When it comes down to it, Trevorrow may not have a wealth of practical filmmaking experience but he does have a billion-dollar movie and 7 years in the world of Jurassic Park on his side.