November 7th, 2020. It has become a day that will go down in history, whether through the collective sigh of relief felt around the world as the U.S. presidential election was finally called, or on a smaller scale, in the eyes of Mass Effect fans. Turns out Colin Trevorrow and his team behind Jurassic World: Dominion also wanted a piece of that action, as the film finally completed its surreal 18 month filming journey on that same day.
Dominion, which began filming well before most of the world had even heard of COVID-19, was one of the first big projects to resume production over the summer after shutting down in the spring due to the pandemic. Thanks to over 40,000 coronavirus tests and millions spent on safety measures, along with strict isolation procedures (and another brief pause due to positive tests only months later), the cast and crew managed to finish everything up early Saturday morning at Pinewood Studios in the U.K.
"Our crew and our cast has been so resilient," said Trevorrow when speaking to Deadline about the emotional final day of shooting, "all producers have worked around the clock to make it the best it can be. It has been inspiring." He continued, detailing the tight-knit feeling that came from everyone essentially bunking together, saying, "I think that close proximity to each other has made the movie better. Everything we were going through emotionally we would share... I think the movie will be stronger for it."
The cast notably features returning Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern along with Jurassic World alums Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and one can only imagine the kind of energy going through the room when any of these folks get together. New additions to the cast include Mamoudou Athie (The Circle) and DeWanda Wise (Netflix's She's Gotta Have It), both of whom are reportedly on track to return in future films.
Jurassic World: Dominion is only the latest film to complete filming in 2020, and this trend could prove to be promising, at least assuming everyone involved is being as safe as possible. Even with active efforts to combat COVID-19 going forward, the virus likely isn't going away anytime soon, so studios might be better off adapting rather than waiting for the time being. Naturally, the safest possible thing to do would be to simply postpone filming until everyone's safety can be guaranteed, but that's the funny thing about money. People want it.
But for now, take solace in the fact that one more movie got the job done against the odds. Not only that, but it apparently proved that a large-scale production can still do things correctly and safely, provided everybody involved is willing to play by the rules. So until scientists finally discover a vaccine, or at least until everyone understands the importance of following safety guidelines, maybe take Dominion as an example to look up to.
Source: Deadline