“Jurassic World: Dominion,” the forthcoming sequel in the billion-dollar film franchise, is one of the first blockbusters to go back into production after being shut down for several months due to COVID-19. However, being the first also means the production will be under added scrutiny from the public, as Universal and the cast and crew implement new safety procedures to prevent the virus from infecting anyone. And it appears ‘Dominion’ has encountered its first speed bump since restarting.
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According to Deadline, “Jurassic World: Dominion” was supposed to send hundreds of cast and crew to Malta to shoot the film beginning later this month and going all the way through September. Unfortunately, those plans are changing after local reports surfaced that said there are four cases of COVID-19 amongst the crew that was supposed to work on the island. Those cases come after the entirety of Malta is suffering a spike in cases. This means Universal has to be extra cautious and change its plans for the forthcoming shoot.
The report claims that the main cast that includes Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Sam Neill won’t be making the trip to Malta. And in fact, the studio is cutting the number of traveling crew members by 50% and only sending the second-unit to film over the next month on the island.
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A Universal spokesperson said, “‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ will have a significant presence in Malta with a second unit crew shooting there from the end of August through to September. Working with an abundance of caution as we have done throughout this production, first unit will no longer shoot in Malta to keep our presence on the ground to a minimum. We’d like to thank the Maltese Government and Film Commission for all their support and we look forward to a successful shoot in this beautiful country.”
It’s unclear how this will affect the first-unit filming and how the production will adapt to the change in plans. However, this is clearly an example of Universal being extra cautious and wanting to prevent a major spread that could risk the production yet again.
As of now, “Jurassic World: Dominion” is set to be released on June 11, 2021.
