Jurassic World: Dominion will have more animatronic dinosaurs than any movie in the series

(Image credit: Universal)

If you thought practical effects had gone the way of the dinosaurs, think again. Jurassic World: Dominion is actually being shot using more animatronics than the other movies in the Jurassic World trilogy.

Speaking to Collider as part of their virtual Comic-Con event, Jurassic World writer and director Colin Trevorrow had this to say about the state of practical effects in 2020 and the Jurassic franchise more specifically.

"We've actually gone more practical with every Jurassic movie we've made since the first one, and we've made more animatronics in this one than we have in the previous two," he said. "And the thing that I've found, especially in working in the past couple months, is that we finally reached a point where it's possible to… digital extensions on animatronics will be able to match the texture and the level of fidelity that, on film, an animatronic is going to be able to bring. And you didn't use to be able to really mix them. You could really see the seams. And so that part of it is very exciting for me."

It's good news to anyone that prefers the look of real-life animatronics over fully-CG dinos, and practical effects aren't the only thing making a return from the Jurassic Park franchise's past. As we reported last month, series' protagonists Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are making a return in Dominion, but – unlike Malcolm's role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – the returning characters are likely to play a larger role in the story. 

Jurassic World: Dominion is set for release on June 11: 2021.

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Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.