The entertainment industry has found itself in a strange place over the past few months, as productions across the board were forced to suddenly halt production due to the global health crisis. This included Jurassic World: Dominion, the highly anticipated sixth installment in the storied film franchise. Since things shut down, there have only been rumblings about when things might restart but, now, the production is about to take a major step forward.
Jurassic World: Dominion is set to continue filming at Pinewood Studios during the second week of July, making it the first major studio film to restart filming in the UK. Per Deadline, the production staff has been working to employ safety measures on-site ahead of a two-week pre-production phase, which is slated to begin next week.
According to the trade, Universal Pictures is spending around $5 million on these safety protocols. This will include thousands of tests that will be on hand as the production moves forward. Also included in this plan is the establishment of Your Doctor, a private medical facility that will oversee any medical needs of the production. There will also be nurses and isolation booths, more than 100 hand sanitizer stations, nightly anti-viral “fogs,” and plenty of safety signs around the studio. In addition to providing “Green Zones” for shooting, masks will also be required, except for actors while they’re shooting scenes.
Before returning to set, all cast and crew members will also be tested for COVID-19 and will undergo other tests during the duration of filming. If anyone does test positive during the shoot, measures have already been put in place to handle such a situation. Here’s what a Universal executive told Deadline:
Anyone with symptoms will be isolated immediately before being sent home. We want to make sure that we are going above and beyond the national protocols to create a safe environment. Cost isn’t our main concern now: it’s safety. We will take direction from our medical team, but we’re confident that with the staggered scheduling and zones of talent and crew, along with a system of contact tracing, we can move forward with limited delay in production.
Universal has reportedly put a lot of time and effort into preparing this plan, as the studio has been working closely with both the British Film Council and U.S. Unions to ensure that everything surpasses standards. Jurassic World: Dominion director/writer Colin Trevorrow has reportedly been proactive in putting this strategy together and, so far, everyone is reported to be in good spirits about the plan moving forward.
Jurassic World: Dominion was four weeks into its shoot before Universal halted production in mid-March and, since then, many of the cast members (like Sam Neill) have been eager to get back to work.
As the first major studio feature to ramp back up in the UK, Dominion precedes other major projects like The Batman, Fantastic Beasts 3 and The Little Mermaid. There’s been no word on when those productions may start back up, though at least two of them are eligible to resume work. But it’s possible that Jurassic World could now be the spark that lights a fire under those projects. We’ll keep you posted on any other production updates as they arrive.
Jurassic World: Dominion is currently scheduled to open in theaters on June 11, 2021.
