Jurassic World Dominion is out now in cinemas, and it's already roared its way to the top of the box office. Dominion picks up four years after Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom left off, and prehistoric creatures are now living side by side with humans after a volcano destroyed the notorious theme park. There's also a potential ecological disaster at the hands of Biosyn Genetics on the cards after the corporation unleashes a swarm of genetically modified locusts on the world's food supplies.
Already seen the movie and got some questions about the way things work out for the Jurassic World Dominion dinosaurs and humans alike? Well, we've got you covered. As you might've guessed, there are major Jurassic World Dominion ending spoilers ahead, so click away now if you haven't seen the movie yet and don't want to know anything in advance.
Jurassic World Dominion ending explained: a recap
In the last act, Kayla's (DeWanda Wise) plane crashes in the mountains of Biosyn's dino sanctuary with Owen (Chris Pratt) on board and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) in the ejector seat. The trio – who have been tracking Maisie (Isabella Sermon) – are separated, but soon get back together.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) have been investigating the genetically modified locusts that Biosyn has been breeding. They manage to retrieve some evidence of what's going on at Biosyn and accidentally stumble into an escaping Maisie. They team up and, on the way out, bump into Owen and the gang, marking the first time the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park teams truly collide. Together, they try to escape the facility, though Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott) is making things difficult for them.
Having been working for Biosyn, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and Ramsay (Mamoudou Athie) both turn on their employer and help everyone else escape. Ian soon reunites with Ellie and Allan while on the run. However, things have gone array at Biosyn and Dodgson sets about destroying any evidence of wrongdoing, setting the locusts on fire. This then sets about the destruction of the entire facility.
Meanwhile, Beta, the captured baby velociraptor and child of Blue, was freed by Maisie and is also on the run. Owen made a promise to Blue to bring Beta back, and along with Alan and Maisie, they find Beta and sedate her, thanks mostly to Maisie, as the raptor listens to her over the others. That's because she, like Beta, is genetically a clone of her mother. More on that later.
Ellie and Claire work with Ian to shut down the Biosyn facility's self-defense mechanism that would not let them leave. The group reunites and tries to escape by plane, but as they approach the vehicle, the Giganotosaurus arrives. Thankfully, the Nublar T-rex, Rexy, arrives on the scene, as does the therizinosaurus that chased Claire earlier in the movie. There's an epic dino-showdown that leaves the Giganotosaurus impaled on therizinosaurus' claws – all the while, Owen, Claire, Allan, and the rest manage to escape.
Once they're back in the US, Ellie and Alan have a smooch, then they go to Washington DC to testify to the Senate about Biosyn's corruption. Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) finds an emergency solution to eradicate the genetically modified locusts. Order is restored to the world's food chains. Kayla gets a new plane after hers is destroyed during the crash at Biosyn HQ, and Owen, Claire, and Maisie go home to their cabin in the mountains. Beta's brought along too, and she runs off with her mother, Blue.
The movie's closing shots show peaceful co-existence between dinosaurs and the rest of life on Earth – they're shown running with horses, flying with birds, swimming with whales, and walking with elephants.
Who is Maisie Lockwood's mother?
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, we were led to believe that Sir Benjamin Lockwood (Babe's James Cromwell) had created Maisie after his granddaughter, Charlotte, died. Lockwood was a business partner with John Hammond, the founder of the original Jurassic Park, but the pair fell out after Lockwood used their company's research to clone his granddaughter.
However, in Jurassic World Dominion, that version of events turns out to be false. Maisie was actually the genetically engineered clone daughter of Charlotte (Elva Trill), who was Lockwood's daughter. Benjamin Lockwood made up the original story to keep Charlotte, a budding scientist, safe. Lockwood still fell out with Hammond because their research was used to clone humans rather than dinosaurs.
Charlotte ended up reproducing on her own, creating Maisie – but she was not an exact clone. Charlotte suffered from a genetic disorder that ended up killing her, and rather than pass than on to her daughter, she eradicated it from her DNA.
What is Biosyn?
Biosyn, or Biology Synthetics Technologies, Inc., is a genetics company. It's similar to InGen from the original trilogy of movies, the bioengineering start-up company founded by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). Both companies are responsible for cloning dinosaurs.
Lewis Dodgson is Biosyn's CEO. Campbell Scott plays him in Dominion. Dodgson creates the locusts that swarm and devour crops all over the United States. However, they don't eat crops grown from Biosyn seed, giving them a monopoly on the market.
Dodgson appears in the first Jurassic Park movie, played by a different actor. Don't recognize the character's name from the original Jurassic Park? One of the subplots of that movie revolves around Dennis Nedry (Seinfeld's Wayne Knight) stealing dinosaur embryos from the Jurassic Park lab after being bought out by a rival company to Hammond's InGen. That rival company is, of course, Biosyn.
In the original Jurassic Park, Nedry meets his death while trying to escape the island, leaving behind a shaving cream canister filled with the stolen samples in a mud puddle. In Dominion, it's confirmed that the canister ended up in the hands of Biosyn, as it is seen on Dodgson's shelf.
What happens to Biosyn CEO Lewis Dodgson?
Like Dennis Nedry before him, Biosyn CEO Lewis Dodgson doesn't manage to escape with his life. As the company's headquarters is imploding, he attempts to run away in a tube-like system with some of his research. However, due to Ellie and Claire rerouting power around the facility, Dodgson's ride shuts down, and he's left trying to run away on his own. He's then encountered by a pack of dilophosaurus, who spit on him and then presumably eat him. It's a grim ending – and a nice callback to Nedry, who was likewise killed by a dilophosaurus.
How did Blue reproduce?
The velociraptor Blue, introduced in the first Jurassic World, managed to reproduce due to the fact she has monitor lizard DNA. In the original Jurassic Park, it's understood that dinosaurs were brought back to life by using the DNA from dinosaurs that had been stuck in amber, with any gaps in the genome filled in by the DNA of animals living today. For Blue, they used the DNA of monitor lizards, which can reproduce on their own. Therefore, she's able to give birth to Beta despite not having a mate. Similarly, Charlotte was able to reproduce on her own – and this ties into the reason why Beta and Maisie, two cloned daughters, share a bond.
How is the locust problem solved?
A big problem threatening the Earth's ecosystem in the movie is the genetically modified locusts created by Biosyn, which target all crops except those grown from Biosyn seed. This is investigated by Ellie, who heads to Biosyn headquarters with Alan to prove that the corporation is behind it. They're helped by Ian and Ramsay, though they don't actually find a solution to the locust problem.
That comes from Dr. Henry Wu, who once worked with Charlotte and saw how she managed to alter the DNA of her child, Maisie. Despite working closely with Charlotte over the year, Wu's unable to find out how Charlotte did it. He needs to study Maisie – and after Wu turns on Biosyn, he uses his knowledge to create a solution to the locust problem. Wu finds an emergency solution using replacement DNA, crediting the late Charlotte Lockwood and her research.
Also to note: Wu's a long-running Jurassic character. In Dominion, Alan says, "I remember you," and for good reason – Wu was in the lab in Jurassic Park, helping Hammond form his park. In the interim years, he worked at Jurrasic World, creating the genetically modified hybrid Indominus rex. He also worked for InGen Security, the company that grew from Hammond's InGen – though they went on to become villains, creating dinosaurs as weapons. Wu finally found himself at Biosyn and ends up having a redemption arch or sorts in Dominion.
Did Blue and Beta reunite?
Yes – Owen, Maisie, and Alan find Beta before they all leave Biosyn HQ together. Owen, Claire, and Maisie take her home and she reunites with her mother Blue to continue to roam free in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Jurassic World Dominion is in theaters now. For more dinosaur action, check out our interview with Jeff Goldblum, Mamoudou Athie, and director Colin Trevorrow. If you're planning a small-screen re-watch, here's when you can catch Jurassic World Dominion on streaming.
