On this episode of the Deep Focus podcast, host and Playlist Editor-In-Chief Rodrigo Perez talks to writer/director Colin Trevorrow & writer Emily Carmichael (“Pacific Rim: Uprising”) about “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which is the sixth and potentially final chapter in the dino-action series that began with Steven Spielberg’s beloved, “Jurassic Park.”
“Jurassic World: Dominion” picks up four years after the events of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” in which Isla Nublar was destroyed in a volcanic explosion. Dinosaurs now live and hunt alongside humans worldwide, proposing the question — who is the world’s apex predator? But once again, it reorients itself to ask itself a larger question to itself that informs the story — how would the world react if there were dinosaurs in it? The answer, underneath all the thrills, the action, the spectacle, and the frights, is that capitalism, greed, and corporate interests, like life, find a way.
Much of the conversation centers around just that. The human, social, and global texture that the filmmakers tried to Trojan Horse big ideas into a gigantic summer blockbuster.
“It’s kind of the assignment,” Trevorrow said about why the ‘Jurassic’ films try and look at the world around us, how it behaves, and then apply that to a world with dinosaurs and how the world would realistically respond. “That’s what [Micheal] Crichton did; that’s what Steven [Spielberg] did.”
During the conversation, Trevorrow talked about his thoughts on the ‘Jurassic’ franchise being a specifically science-focused sci-fi franchise with many real-world considerations.
“This is kind of the only [blockbuster] franchise that’s just regular people who are professionals, or parents, or scientists in our world who are dealing with something that is fantastical,” Trevorrow explained. “In this case, the fantastical things were real. That’s part of what makes us a science franchise, and so I think leaning into that at all times, treating the dinosaurs as animals, which is something we’ve done in this trilogy a little bit more, even. They’re not monsters, and I think all of that is really consistent with the book, honestly.”
Many fans of the series were excited to see Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum return to the series. Some believed they were added last minute to sell tickets, but writer Emily Carmichael quickly dispelled the rumor.
“I was actually asked the other day when we knew that the legacy cast was coming back, but they were always coming back,” Carmichael said.
“It all happened very quickly,” Trevorrow added. “Because people were super down to come and do it, then it became the question of, ‘OK, what are we going to do when we get there?’ And that was the hard part for us; it was knowing, even once you have a story, once you have a general plot structure, understanding what each of these people have been doing. What their perspective on the world, what their relationship is with each other, how we’re going to, in this movie, create a plot engine that’s driven by the Ellie Sattler character because she’s just the one of the three that never had a movie where she was the engine of the plot.”
“Jurassic World: Dominion” hits theaters today. You can dive into the entire conversation below:
Deep Focus is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes Bingeworthy, The Discourse, The Playlist Podcast, Yellowstoners, The Fourth Wall, and Be Reel. We can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the Spotify embed within the article or click on the lead image at the top page. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast as well as our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening. – Additional reporting by Rodrigo Perez.
