Jurassic World: Dominion Director Colin Trevorrow Explains Why Filming Was ‘Unlike Any Experience’ He’d Had

Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The Jurassic Park franchise was a game changer for the film industry, as Steven Spielberg introduced cutting edge visual effects to moviegoing audiences. The dino-centric property recently returned to theaters thanks the Jurassic World movies, which will come to a conclusion with Colin Trevorrow's upcoming installment Dominion. And now the filmmaker has explained why making the highly anticipated blockbuster was unlike any project in his career.

Colin Trevorrow helmed the first Jurassic World movie, before allowing J.A. Bayona to step behind the camera for 2018's Fallen Kingdom. But Trevorrow returned to direct the short film Battle at Big Rock, before getting to work on Dominion in the midst of a pandemic. It was this unique time in history and new safety restrictions that made directing the delayed threequel such a new unique experience. As he recently explained,

It's unlike any experience I've ever had and probably ever will have. I lived with my cast for four months while we made this film and we all got to know each other very, very well. We were able to dig into the film and work on each of these characters in a way that I never would have had the opportunity to do. That kind of constant immersion is not really the way that films are made, where people are all living in their separate places and you see them on set.

Talk about a silver lining. It looks like the strict lockdown that the cast and crew of Jurassic World: Dominion followed may have really helped out the upcoming blockbuster. Namely because they were so immersed in the world of the franchise, and forming even stronger bonds due to their time isolating with each other. We'll just have to patiently wait to see how this affects the performances by stars both classic and current.

Colin Trevorrow's comments to Comic Book are sure to excite the generations of Jurassic fans out there who can't wait for Dominion to finally arrive. The filming process took much longer than anticipated, due to a break when sets around the set were shut down. Eventually filming resumed with strict health protocols, including a dizzying amount of COVID tests and a strict lock down.

Jurassic World: Dominion is actually Colin Trevorrow's third live-action entry into the franchise, including the short film Battle at Big Rock. The brief but thrilling footage shows what life is like following the events of Fallen Kingdom, which saw the resurrected dinosaurs free on the mainland and colliding with humans. As a reminder you can check that out below, and see what you're in for when Dominion is released.

Pretty wild, right? And on top of these high stakes, Jurassic World: Dominion will also see the return of the trio of original heroes in Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern. Their roles have been confirmed as essential to plot, and audiences are eager to see those characters back on the big screen. Later in his same interview Colin Trevorrow explained how character-driven the next movie will be, saying:

It's a very emotionally rich and thematically rich movie. It's got a lot on its mind -- because all of us did. And I think it understands each of these characters better than we ever have because each of these actors has been playing them for so long that they're the ultimate authority on their own character. Much in a way that I did on Safety Not Guaranteed, I really gave all the actors an opportunity to - in a lot of ways - do some writing, to really dig in and find the truth in each of these people. And the product of that is something that I never could have done alone. It's pretty special.

Clearly Colin Trevorrow and company put everything they could into Jurassic World: Dominion, and the project recently wrapped production. Now is the time for the director to hunker down for the editing process, as well as extensive visual effects needed to bring dinosaurs to life. The cast and crew have been keeping their cards close to the chest, so the movie's actual contents remain a mystery.

Colin Trevorrow's involvement in Jurassic World: Dominion wasn't always guaranteed, as he was slated to direct Star Wars: Episode IX. Ultimately he departed the project due to creative differences, allowing J.J. Abrams to helm The Rise of Skywalker. Luckily this also freed Trevorrow to give his full attention to the Jurassic World franchise with Dominion.

Jurassic World: Dominion is currently expected to hit theaters on June 10th, 2022. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.