''Jurassic World''

Development

In March 2001, Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston said he and executive producer Steven Spielberg had discussed a story idea for a fourth Jurassic Park film, which Johnston was not interested in directing.^[27] In May 2001, Spielberg had Amblin Entertainment commence development of ideas for Jurassic Park IV, which he planned to produce.^[28] Late in Jurassic Park III's production, Spielberg devised a story idea he believed should have been used for the third film.^[29] In June 2001, Johnston announced he would not direct the film and that Spielberg had a story idea that would extend the series' mythology.^[30] Johnston said the film would feel like a departure from the previous films, implying it would not be set on an island.^[31] Johnston also said it would not involve the Pteranodons from the ending of Jurassic Park III, then later hinted it would.^[32][33]

Actor Sam Neill, who portrayed Dr. Alan Grant in two previous films in the series, said he could not imagine a way for his character to be involved in another film.^[34] Neill was contracted for three films;^[35] other actors from Jurassic Park III were also contracted for a potential fourth film.^[36] In April 2002, it was reported that the fourth Jurassic Park film would be the last in the series and that it would ignore events portrayed in its predecessor.^[37] In June 2002, Spielberg confirmed plans for a fourth film, which he hoped Johnston would direct. Spielberg also said he considered a story idea for the film was the best one since the first film.^[29] In November 2002, Neill said there was a chance he would appear in the film,^[38] while William Monahan was announced as the screenwriter, with Spielberg as executive producer and Kathleen Kennedy as producer.^[39] A month later, the film was announced for a mid-2005 release.^[40]

In January 2003, Jeff Goldblum said he had been asked to stay available for a possible return of his character Ian Malcolm.^[41] At the end of the month, it was reported the story would involve dinosaurs migrating to the Costa Rican mainland. A team of experts, including Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm, chart an expedition to an offshore island and discover the dinosaurs breeding freely. The plot would involve the characters devising a way to restrict the spread of the dinosaurs and prevent an ecological disaster.^[42][43] Early concept art depicted genetically engineered human-dinosaur mercenaries.^[44][45][46] Stan Winston's special effects studio, which worked on the previous films, was in the design phase for the film as of April 2003. Winston said Spielberg wanted to adapt several unfilmed scenes from Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novel and its sequel The Lost World.^[47] By July 2003, Keira Knightley was in consideration for two roles, including a small role as a granddaughter.^[48] Monahan's first draft of the script was finished later that month; the story was not set in a jungle, as in previous films.^[49] Neill confirmed he would reprise his character; filming was set to begin in 2004 in California and Hawaii.^[50]

In September 2003, Richard Attenborough said he would reprise his role as John Hammond.^[51] The following month, paleontologist Jack Horner said he would return as technical adviser for the fourth film, hinting it would feature a Velociraptor.^[52] He was later asked about a hypothetical idea of humans evolving from dinosaurs rather than mammals; Horner responded, "Keep thinking about that, and in a couple of years go see Jurassic Park 4".^[53] Knightley's character was written out in late 2003.^[54] In March 2004, Johnston said he had not been asked to direct the film and hoped Spielberg would direct it. Johnston said a story that would take the series in a completely different direction "away from the island and away from the T. rex and all this" was being written.^[55] In April 2004, script doctors were being sought to work on the film's story, which involved dinosaurs being trained by the government to carry and use weapons in battles.^[56] As of May 2004, screenwriter John Sayles was writing the script,^[57] after being hired to finish earlier work done by Monahan, who had left the project to work on Kingdom of Heaven.^[58]

Sayles wrote two drafts for the film.^[59] In his first draft, Isla Nublar and InGen have been taken over by Grendel Corporation, a Swiss holdings company, while creatures from the island have begun attacking people on the mainland of Central and North America. The script featured a brief return to Isla Nublar and would focus on a mercenary named Nick Harris, a new character who is sent by John Hammond to the island to retrieve a canister of dinosaur DNA that was lost during the events of the first film. With the DNA, Hammond intends to have his scientists create a new group of infertile dinosaurs that can kill the extant ones. Harris retrieves the canister but is kidnapped and taken to Grendel Corporation's headquarters in the Swiss Alps, where he is persuaded into helping the company train a team of genetically modified Deinonychus and two Dilophosaurus for use on rescue missions and to combat drug dealers. The dinosaurs would be equipped with body armor and would use their teeth and claws as weapons. The script focused mostly on the efforts of Harris and a team of experts as they train the dinosaurs. Hammond would be the only returning character in this draft.^[60][61][62] The concept of a human who trains raptors came from Spielberg.^[63]

By June 2004, Frank Marshall had joined the project as a producer^[64] while Alex Proyas was in discussions to direct, with filming expected to begin in March 2005 for a late-2005 release. Filming would begin at Pinewood Studios, where a massive tank was to be constructed for scenes involving marine reptiles.^[65][66] In July 2004, the script was being rewritten and Jeremy Piven and Emmy Rossum were being considered for two of the lead roles and Attenborough reprising his character.^[54] Later that month, Proyas said he was not interested in directing the film.^[67] In August 2004, Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News published a review of Sayles's initial draft, calling it "well-written and inventive" but "bugfuck crazy".^[60] Sayles later confirmed this was an early draft of the script that had been intercepted through Spielberg's email by a hacker.^[68] In late August 2004, David Boreanaz was rumored and later reported to have the lead role,^[69][70] although he was actually in consideration for Fantastic Four.^[71] Sayles was still rewriting the script in September 2004, with the film on track for a late-2005 release.^[72]

In April 2005, Winston confirmed the film was on hold because of repeated revisions to the film's script, none of which satisfied Spielberg. According to Winston, "He felt neither of [the drafts] balanced the science and adventure elements effectively ... too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow".^[73] Progress on the film stalled during 2005 as Marshall and Spielberg were busy with other film projects.^[74] At the end of the year, Spielberg said he planned to include a scene inspired by Crichton's novel The Lost World that would involve characters on motorcycles as they flee from raptors.^[75] In January 2006, Johnston and Horner were working on a new screenplay,^[76] with filming expected to begin after the 2008 release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.^[77] In February 2006, Marshall said the film now had a good script, with filming expected to begin in 2007 for a 2008 release.^[78] In March 2006, Marshall said the film had a script and was getting a director; Johnston was a possible candidate.^[79] In April 2006, Marshall said there was an idea for the film but no script. Marshall said Crichton would not write the script and that Spielberg would not direct it.^[80] The script was still being worked on in June 2006.^[81] The following month, Spielberg denied an Internet rumor that Breck Eisner would direct, saying Johnston was standing by for the job.^[82]

In December 2006, Laura Dern said she was open to reprising her role as Ellie Sattler but had not been contacted about appearing in the film.^[83] In March 2007, Neill said he knew nothing about the project.^[84] By April 2007, Dern had been contacted about appearing in the film, with filming expected to begin that year for release in 2008.^[85] By that time, Johnston no longer planned to direct the film.^[86] In December 2007, Marshall said further work on the script would begin at the end of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, with filming potentially starting in 2008 for a release in mid-2009.^[87] Horner's 2009 book, How to Build a Dinosaur, was originally planned for release at the same time as the film as a scientific companion volume.^[88] During 2008, Attenborough and Goldblum expressed interest in reprising their roles,^[89][90][91] although Attenborough suffered a fall at his home later that year and subsequently retired from acting.^[92] In a 2008 interview, Johnston discussed the possibility of Jurassic Park IV, stating that the film's story was completely different from that of its predecessors and would not be set on an island. Johnston also said the film would take the franchise into a new trilogy.^[93]

In December 2008, a month after Crichton's death, Marshall and Kennedy said the planned fourth film in the sequence had been abandoned.^[94] In early 2010, Johnston said Jurassic Park IV would essentially be the beginning of a second Jurassic Park trilogy.^[95][96][97] Johnston also said the film would feature new characters and a story that did not involve a dinosaur theme park, and would not use the story from Sayles's initial 2004 draft. Johnston hoped to further develop the project with Spielberg after they finished other projects, including Johnston's 2011 film, Captain America: The First Avenger.^[97]

By June 15, 2011, Spielberg had met twice with writer Mark Protosevich to work on a story for a potential fourth Jurassic Park film.^[98] In July 2011, Johnston said he was in discussions about the fourth film, which was still planned as the start of a new trilogy.^[99] Later that month at the San Diego Comic-Con International, Spielberg said a writer was working on a treatment for the film, which he said might be released "within the next two or three years".^[100] A representative of Universal said 2013 would be the preferred deadline for completion.^[101] Over the next three months, Mark Protosevich wrote two story treatments for the film.^[102] Spielberg had hoped to have a writer working on a full screenplay for Jurassic Park IV by October 2011; he and Kennedy felt neither of Protosevich's treatments had the right story for a fourth film.^[103]

Despite this, Spielberg said in October 2011 that the script was being written by Protosevich, and that he felt the story they were working on was stronger than that of Jurassic Park III.^[104] In December 2011, Kennedy said a script had not yet been written because story ideas were still being discussed.^[105] In January 2012, Kennedy said a story had been chosen and that work on the script would begin.^[103] That month, Spielberg said he would not direct the film but would produce it.^[106] In June 2012, it was announced that writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would be scripting Jurassic Park 4.^[107]

Pre-production

On January 11, 2013, Universal said the film would be made in 3D and released on June 13, 2014.^[108] In February, it was reported that Kathleen Kennedy would not be producing the film in favor of focusing on Star Wars: The Force Awakens for 2015.^[109] Frank Marshall took over as the primary producer.^[110] Shortly after, the director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, confirmed that Universal Pictures had reserved space there from April to November 2013, without specifying the reason.^[111]

Marshall was impressed with Colin Trevorrow's first film Safety Not Guaranteed^[112] and at the end of February 2013,^[113] he arranged a meeting between himself, Trevorrow and Spielberg regarding the Jurassic Park job.^[112] Trevorrow was subsequently hired without reading Jaffa and Silver's script, which was still being written.^[114][115] Universal announced Trevorrow as director on March 14, 2013,^[116][117] and Patrick Crowley as a producer.^[118] A year had been spent searching for a director.^[113] Spielberg, Marshall, and Kennedy had previously considered Juan Antonio Bayona to direct Jurassic World, but he declined because he felt there was not enough time for production.^[119][120] In April 2013, Jack Horner said a new, previously extinct creature would rise to stardom in the film.^[121]

After reading Jaffa and Silver's draft, Trevorrow insisted on completely rewriting the script with writing partner Derek Connolly, who had never seen any of the Jurassic Park films prior to that point.^[15][122] Trevorrow had told the filmmakers, "if I direct this screenplay, it's going to be a bad movie. I'm gonna do a bad job, because I just don't get it."^[115] Trevorrow and Connolly wrote their own draft of the script over a couple of weeks.^[114] The studio received the draft on May 6, 2013, and found the script changes more large-scale than anticipated.^[123] On May 8, 2013, the studio announced it was pushing the release from June 13, 2014, to an unspecified future date.^[124][125] Filming had been set to begin on June 24, 2013.^[123] Delaying the film allowed Trevorrow and Connolly more time to work on the script,^[126] as Spielberg felt that it needed improvement.^[15] Another reason for the delay was to allow time for the construction of practical sets for the fictional theme park; it was previously intended to add in these buildings using computer effects.^[114]

In May 2013, Trevorrow tweeted a picture of Kauai taken during location scouting with the caption "Nublar", the name of the island in the original film.^[127] Later that month, Sam Neill said it was unlikely he would be a part of the film, stating, "I'm told it's a big reboot, a total re-jig."^[128] Trevorrow eventually tweeted that "Reboot is a strong word. This is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of Jurassic Park."^[129] In June 2013, a new release date of 2015 was announced,^[130] and it was reported that the film would revolve around a fully functional dinosaur theme park.^[131]

On September 10, 2013, Universal Pictures confirmed the film would be titled Jurassic World and would be released on June 12, 2015.^[132] Trevorrow chose to rename the film from its previous title, Jurassic Park IV, to differentiate it from previous films in the series.^[133] Trevorrow also said that within the story, "if you named a theme park 'Jurassic Park' after the disaster that had happened it would be a horrible PR mistake."^[134] By February 7, 2014, Legendary Pictures had agreed to co-finance the film,^[135] and provided about 20% of the budget.^[136] China Film Group has been reported as also having financed the film.^[137] Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures served as executive producer for the film with Spielberg.^[138]

Writing

Spielberg had three ideas he wanted Jaffa and Silver to incorporate into the script; a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, a human who has a relationship with trained raptors (from Sayles's earlier draft), and a human-eating dinosaur that escapes and has to be stopped.^{[6][139][122]} Jaffa and Silver's draft, titled Jurassic Park IV,^[114][122] included an opening scene set in China,^[110] where the fossilized remains of a new dinosaur species are discovered by a Chinese paleontologist.^[140][6] In the draft, the remains are stolen by a corporation with malicious intentions, leading the paleontologist and her two sons to visit Jurassic Park.^[140][6] Jaffa and Silver worked on the script for approximately a year, with input from Spielberg.^[141]

After the film was delayed in May 2013, Trevorrow and Connolly continued rewriting the script^[126] and worked with Spielberg to perfect it.^[15] Throughout the writing period, Trevorrow, Connolly and Spielberg discussed in meetings the film's story.^[142] David Koepp also met with Trevorrow and Connolly to advise them on the script.^[15] Koepp wrote the first two films in the series; he declined an offer to write the fourth film because he felt he had nothing left to contribute to the series.^[143][144] Trevorrow said perfecting the script was the hardest part because Jurassic Park films "don't fit into a specific genre. They're sci-fi adventures that also have to be funny, emotional and scary as hell. That takes a lot of construction, but it can't feel designed."^[126]

To write the film's story, Trevorrow and Connolly discussed major news events that occurred in the past twenty years. Trevorrow said two main ideas emerged; the ill-advised pursuit of money leading to environmental disaster and the ubiquity of technology leading to ignorance and the taking for granted of scientific wonders. According to Trevorrow; "[w]e take so much for granted … we imagined a teenager texting his girlfriend with his back to a T-Rex behind protective glass. For us, that image captured the way much of the audience feels about the movies themselves. 'We've seen CG dinosaurs. What else you got?' "^[145] Trevorrow also said Jurassic World was inspired by a quotation from Ian Malcolm in the first film; "You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you wanna sell it".^[146] Trevorrow said the quotation from Malcolm inspired the large amount of product placement in the film.^[146]

Trevorrow and Connolly retained Spielberg's three ideas, although Trevorrow felt the concept of trained raptors was, in its original form, too extreme and had to be "pulled way, way, way back".^[114][139] A few months after being hired, Trevorrow read through each of the previous drafts for the film.^[63] Trevorrow said each of the previous drafts "tried to do something different" from the previous films in the series.^[6] Trevorrow called Sayles's initial draft "fascinating in a lot of ways. There were a lot of things I loved about it. It was properly bonkers. In a way, I aspired for our film, in its fearlessness and willingness, to go there".^[63] Trevorrow further stated that he was "interested in what the Sayles script was trying to do because it was so daring. It was trying to set a tone for how far forward we needed to push ... it took us too far forward with man's progressions with dinosaurs."^[6] Owen's relationship with raptors was inspired by real-life relationships between humans and dangerous animals such as lions and alligators.^[15][147] In their first appearance in the film, the raptors are ordered not to eat a live pig in their enclosure; Trevorrow said that this "was as far as we should be able to go" with the concept of trained raptors.^[15]

Trevorrow's and Connelly's rewrite of the script introduced new characters.^[140] Trevorrow wrote the characters Hoskins, Masrani, and Wu while Connelly wrote the children and female characters.^[15] In Jaffa and Silver's draft, the main character, who would become Owen, actively supported the militarization of the raptors from the beginning of the story. Trevorrow said "if anyone's gonna militarize raptors that's what the bad guy does, he's insane".^[148] Trevorrow's and Connolly's script redraft changed the story so viewers would first see the theme park from the perspective of a child.^[15] Trevorrow said one of his goals was for the child characters of Zach and Gray to "not be annoying. And I think we pulled it off."^[15] Gray was initially written as a child with autism, a trait that was removed from the final draft.^[149]

Trevorrow and Connolly did not want to include previous characters in the new film without a good reason for their return to the series; they considered Dr. Henry Wu, the scientist responsible for recreating dinosaurs, a logical choice.^[15][126] In the first novel, Henry Wu had a much larger role, which was trimmed down for the film adaptation.^[15][126] Trevorrow said that the characters Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, and Ellie Sattler were not included in the script because "I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons. Jurassic Park isn't about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they'd go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go."^[126] Trevorrow said viewers could feel nostalgia without having an actor reprise a role after so many years, which he believed "might make you feel old and remind you that you're on a slow march towards death, like the rest of us!"^[15]

Initially, the film's new dinosaur was known as Malusaurus.^[150][151] In Jaffa's and Silver's draft, the new dinosaur—a non-existent species—was depicted as a real animal. Trevorrow made the dinosaur a genetically modified hybrid named Indominus rex to maintain consistency with earlier films in the series, which had incorporated the latest paleontological discoveries; he said, "I didn't wanna make up a new dinosaur and tell kids it was real".^[113] Trevorrow said the idea of a hybrid dinosaur was "not tremendously different from [those in] the first film, by adding frog DNA. It's the next level."^[15] In addition to the Indominus rex, the earlier draft by Trevorrow and Connelly also included a second hybrid dinosaur named Stegoceratops, which is bred using DNA from Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Trevorrow removed the animal from the final script after his son persuaded him featuring multiple hybrids would make the Indominus unique.^[114][152]

Trevorrow and Connelly shortened the raptor hunt for the park's new, escaped dinosaur, which in the Jaffa/Silver draft occupied the second half of the film.^[153] One scene, which was inspired by Crichton's novel The Lost World, involves Owen riding a motorcycle while his raptors race accompany him during their search for the Indominus. Spielberg had intended to include the scene as early as 2005, although his initial vision for the scene was more similar to its counterpart in the novel, in which humans on a motorcycle flee from raptors rather than cooperating with them.^[75][154] The Indominus's camouflage ability is also present in The Lost World, which features Carnotaurus with the same ability.^[155]

According to Trevorrow, the film "isn't a sequel or a reboot or a remake, it's all of those things in a strange way". He did not wish to make a "carbon copy of Jurassic Park".^[156] Jurassic World features various references to Jurassic Park,^[21][156] and is considered a direct sequel to the first film; Trevorrow stated that the events of the previous two films were not relevant to the new film's story because they take place on a different island. He also said the events depicted in the film's predecessors are still canon in the film series.^{[19][157][158]}

Trevorrow suggested the idea of including a Mosasaurus as part of a theme-park feeding show in which park-goers would watch from bleachers as the animal leaps out of a lagoon and catches its prey: a shark hanging above the water. Spielberg suggested lowering the bleachers afterwards to give park guests a view of the creature in its aquatic habitat.^[114][147] The theme park's ball-shaped gyrosphere rides were another of Spielberg's ideas;^[147] he approved Trevorrow's and Connolly's draft in September 2013.^[159]

Casting

Prior to the production delay in May 2013, actors Bryce Dallas Howard, David Oyelowo and Garrett Hedlund had been considered for roles in the film.^[132] By August 15, 2013, John Krasinski was in talks for a role as a dinosaur tamer.^[160] In September 2013, Howard was in early negotiations for a role^[161] and was cast in early November.^[162] By mid-October, Ty Simpkins had been cast as the child lead,^[163] while Nick Robinson was cast as the older brother of Simpkins's character.^[164] Robinson and Simpkins had to perform a "scream test" before being cast.^[15] During mid-October, Jake Johnson was being considered for a role^[163] while Josh Brolin was in talks to play Owen.^[165][142] Brolin had been considered earlier but he was not offered the role and no final casting decision had been made.^[142]

By mid-November 2013, Brolin was no longer in talks for the film and Chris Pratt was in negotiations for the role of Owen.^[166][167] By mid-January 2014, Pratt had been cast in the role.^[168] Trevorrow had been impressed by Pratt's acting in Zero Dark Thirty.^[15] In 2010, Pratt had joked that Spielberg had cast him in the film.^[169] Trevorrow said that when Pratt was cast, "we had no idea he'd become as big a star as he has. I just cast a bunch of character actors, as all Jurassic Park movies have. And somehow we ended up with a movie star."^[15] Trevorrow considered Owen to be a combination of Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm.^[170] Pratt said about the character; "He's got a little bit of the Goldblum cynicism but also the Sam Neill excitement at the wonder of the biology of it all, so it's a combination".^[171] Although Pratt received top billing in the cast, Trevorrow stated that Howard's character Claire is the lead character.^[142][172]

Vincent D'Onofrio, Irrfan Khan and Omar Sy were cast in early 2014.^{[173][174][175]} Trevorrow had admired Sy's acting and wrote the character of Barry with him in mind for the role.^[10] Trevorrow also said he cast actors such as Sy because they were well-known internationally, stating that "this is a global film and Jurassic Park doesn't belong to just America".^[158] In March 2014, Johnson confirmed he would have a role in the film.^[176][177] The same month, Trevorrow announced BD Wong would reprise his role as Dr. Henry Wu, stating that the character would have a more significant role than he did in the original film.^[126] A week before filming began, it was announced that Judy Greer, Katie McGrath and Lauren Lapkus had joined the cast.^[178] Over the next two months, it was announced Andy Buckley and James DuMont had joined the cast.^[179][180]

Filming

Principal photography began on April 10, 2014,^[181] at Hawaii's Honolulu Zoo,^[182] where an elephant paddock was used as a set for Jurassic World's petting zoo.^[183] Filming continued for four weeks on Oʻahu.^[184] Filming in Hawaii was limited to three hours on some days because of torrential rain.^[15] The 40-foot (12 m)-high Indominus paddock and the Gyrosphere departure platform were built at Oʻahu's Kualoa Ranch; both sets were left standing after production to become tourist attractions.^[183] Owen's motorcycle sequence with the raptors was filmed along a dirt road at Kualoa Ranch; with computer-generated jungle foliage was added during post-production.^[185] Pratt crashed his motorcycle during filming, resulting in minor injuries.^[15] At the end of April, interior scenes were filmed at the Hawaii Convention Center.^[183][186] The film's ending, in which park guests are evacuated to an airplane hangar set up as a shelter, was filmed at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island.^[183] Filming moved to Kauaʻi on May 15, 2014, and concluded there on June 6, 2014.^[184]

Jurassic World was also shot in Louisiana to take advantage of the state's tax incentives, making it the first film in the series not to be shot at studios in Los Angeles.^[159] Filming was scheduled to remain in Louisiana for eleven weeks^[187] beginning in June 2014 at New Orleans's abandoned Six Flags theme park, ^[188][187] and continuing there for approximately two weeks.^[11][159] Jurassic World's Main Street and boardwalk, measuring 300 ft × 200 ft (91 m × 61 m), was constructed in the Six Flags parking lot but the theme park itself was not used for filming.^[11][159] One of Main Street's restaurants is named Winston's after Stan Winston, who died in 2008.^[15] A statue of Attenborough's character John Hammond is also seen in the film.^[21][114] Although Goldblum did not reprise his role as Ian Malcolm, the character is twice shown in an image on a fictional book written by the character.^[21][19]

Singer Jimmy Buffett, a friend of Marshall, has a brief, non-speaking cameo appearance during the film's pterosaur attack sequence. A Margaritaville restaurant, part of a chain owned by Buffett, was constructed as part of Jurassic World's Main Street; it is destroyed during the battle between the T. rex and the Indominus.^[189] Trevorrow based the pterosaur attack sequence on triptych paintings by Hieronymus Bosch that include details for their admirers to observe. Trevorrow said about the scene, "I wanted to be able to step back and look at these tableaus of chaotic action and allow people who watch the movie over and over again ... to always see a different story as you look specifically at different parts of the frame."^[12] The sequence includes a scene in which Claire's assistant Zara (McGrath) is carried off by several Pteranodons before falling into the park's lagoon, where she is eaten by the Mosasaurus,^{[190][191][192]} marking the first female death in the series.^[152][193] Trevorrow wanted to make it "the most spectacular death we can possibly imagine",^[152] while also wanting to surprise moviegoers,^[190][194] stating, "Let's have someone die who just doesn't deserve to die at all."^[152] McGrath performed her own stunts for the scene, which involved the fall and submersion into the park's lagoon.^[12]

Most of the filming in New Orleans took place at Big Easy Studios inside NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility complex in East New Orleans.^{[195][11][159]} Interior scenes, including the visitor's center, control room and laboratories, were filmed at the Michoud facility.^[15] Jack Horner helped designed the educational displays in the Jurassic World visitor center.^[196] Approximately 200 extras, acting as park guests sitting on bleachers, were doused with water as part of a scene depicting the Mosasaurus feeding show,^[15] which was filmed on an outdoor set at the Michoud facility.^[197] The raptor enclosure, an octagonal, 20 ft (6.1 m)-high outdoor structure, was also constructed at the Michoud facility.^[11][196] One jungle scene was filmed on a soundstage in Louisiana, while the rest were filmed earlier in Hawaii.^[15] On June 30, 2014, Robinson, Simpkins and Greer filmed scenes at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans.^[198] In July 2014, fake snow was used in New Orleans for scenes that depict Zach and Gray's house in Wisconsin.^[199][200] An evacuation scene was filmed at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans,^[188] while swamp scenes were filmed in Slidell, Louisiana.^[201]

Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects was hired to fabricate and build the Blue Eurocopter EC130 T2 airframe body known as "JW001" in the film,^[202] while 32TEN Studios created the automatic Jurassic World gates and various practical effects such as explosions.^[203] To aid in the design of the Jurassic World control room, Trevorrow and Crowley visited the control rooms at various Universal and Disney theme parks prior to filming.^[6][196] Trevorrow and Crowley were disappointed by the unexciting appearances of real-life control rooms and made the Jurassic World control room more elaborate than its real-life counterparts.^[153][196] The control room set included many television monitors displaying miscellaneous information;^[142][196] footage for the monitors was filmed in Hawaii and at the NASA facility, and some was also obtained from Universal Orlando.^[196] Production designers based parts of the control room set on the NASA facility's control room.^[196] During filming, Trevorrow confirmed reports that the story involved a functioning dinosaur theme park and a hybrid dinosaur; he was disappointed these details could not be kept secret until the film's release.^[145][6] During filming, the Indominus rex was also known as Diabolus rex, a name Trevorrow devised to maintain secrecy on the project.^[6]

In contrast to the prevalence of digital cinematography in the 2010s, cinematographer John Schwartzman used Panavision cameras with a combination of Kodak 35mm and 65mm film stocks.^[15][204] One of the 65mm cameras used on the production was used in the filming of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.^[159] The filmmakers chose to shoot Jurassic World on film stock, in addition to Spielberg's and Schwartzman's personal preference for the format, was to match the visual aesthetic of the previous three film-shot Jurassic Park pictures, and because the film's exterior jungle scenes required a greater dynamic range of light than digital cameras could accommodate.^[205] Most of Jurassic World was made on 35mm film and large exteriors in Hawaii were shot using 65mm film,^[159] which was used for visual effect sequences and as location shots where the filmmakers wanted extra visual impact.^[205] The film is presented in a 2.00:1 aspect ratio, an intermediate ratio that falls between the two industry standard widescreen aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1. This was chosen because it allowed enough height for humans and dinosaurs to fit into the same frame without giving up a sense of scope, and closely matches the ratio of digital IMAX screens.^[126] Schwartzman made extensive use of the Technocrane telescopic crane, which Crowley described as fitting for a thriller, "being able to march into people, to get in closer and closer, as they realize that there's something out there". Tracking shots, particularly those that would serve as reference to the visual effects team, used a Spydercam.^[206]

The film was made under the working title Ebb Tide, which Spielberg chose before Trevorrow was hired.^[11][159] Spielberg did not visit the set,^[119][207] although he watched each day's footage at the end of each production day and sometimes advised Trevorrow on the filming of certain scenes.^[15][119] Filming wrapped on August 5, 2014,^[208] after 78 shooting days.^[15]

Creatures on screen

Jurassic World is the first film in the series without the involvement of Stan Winston, who died in 2008. The animatronic dinosaurs were handled by Winston's former colleagues at Legacy Effects, many of whom worked on the previous three films.^[212] Legacy Effects contributed lighting reference models and a practically built animatronic.^[213][214] Visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) also returned to create dinosaurs using computer-generated imagery (CGI).^[215] Image Engine also worked on the film's creatures.^[185] Tim Alexander served as visual effects supervisor and Jurassic Park supervisor Dennis Muren provided advice to the ILM crew on matters such as lighting the dinosaurs.^[185]

The computer-generated creatures, including those seen in the park's petting zoo,^[15] were created with motion capture using human actors to perform the animals' movements,^[214] marking the first time that motion capture technology had been used in the making of a dinosaur film.^[142] Trevorrow said, "We got to build everyone from the ground up because technology has changed so much that everything is a rebuild".^[216] New technology such as subsurface scattering allowed the creatures' skin and muscle tissue to be given additional detail that could not be achieved in the earlier films.^[185] As with previous films in the series, actors had to imagine many of the film's creatures, which were digitally added during post-production. Actors were aided by cardboard cut-outs and tennis balls on sticks, all of which represented the creatures that would later be added into the film.^[185] ILM used its V-scout application, which used an iPad to digitally depict dinosaur models in the filming environment, to further aid the actors.^[185][217] ILM also used the V-scout during location scouting.^[185]

Part of the fight scene between the T. rex and the Indominus was inspired by a video clip that Spielberg shot of his dogs growling and lunging at each other.^[15] Early in pre-production, Tippett helped Trevorrow plan and choreograph the battle sequence by having a scale model created for the scene. Previsualizations of the scene were then created to assist in filming it. Tippett also visited the set during production and later discussed the creature animations with ILM.^[185] Trevorrow included several creatures he felt had always deserved an in-franchise big scene in the film; he stated, "I didn't want to just throw the kitchen sink at it. Each of these movies has done a good job at just very carefully, in a measured way, increasing the new dinosaurs that you see."^[216] Several creatures make notable appearances in the film:

• Indominus rex: In addition to the DNA of T. rex, Velociraptor and cuttlefish, the film's promotional website states that the creature also has the DNA of Carnotaurus, Giganotosaurus, Majungasaurus, and Rugops.^[155] Trevorrow said the animal's mixed DNA allowed it to have attributes "that no dinosaur was known to have".^[218] ILM conducted many animation tests to examine the creature's unique characteristics, which include its long arms, raptor claws and small thumbs; its ability to walk on four legs and push itself up from the ground with its claws; and its ability to throw objects with its claws. Glen McIntosh, the animation supervisor for ILM, said, "We did a bunch of animation tests to explore that. We found that if you overanimated or made it too anthropomorphic and human-like in its movement, it feels it. The goal was to always make sure she felt like a gigantic animal that was a theropod but taking advantage of its extra features."^[185] Several fifth scale maquettes of the Indominus rex were created for lighting reference.^[185]
• For the film's Velociraptor, Tippett provided animatics and previsualization scenes during pre-production. The creatures were primarily created using motion capture.^[185][219] Image Engine finished the creatures using the motion capture information and a near-final raptor model by ILM.^[185] Life-size maquettes of the raptors were also used during scenes in which the creatures are caged.^[196][207] For the sequence in which the raptors run through the jungle hunting for the Indominus, Trevorrow was inspired by a quotation from character Robert Muldoon in the first film, in which he stated that the animals were capable of running at the same speed as a cheetah. McIntosh said, "We had seen how smart and cunning the raptors could be as hunters but we hadn't seen them as these unbelievably agile and ferociously fast animals in their native jungle environment". Legacy Effects provided one of the full-sized raptor models built for Jurassic Park to the ILM crew to use as a reference. The raptor model weighed approximately 500 lb (230 kg) and measured approximately six feet (1.8 m) tall and twelve to fourteen feet (3.7 to 4.3 m) long, which helped the animators determine the raptors' locomotion for the hunting scene. The animators determined that an animal of such size probably weighed about 500 lb (230 kg)—as much as a fully grown Bengal tiger. They referenced an ostrich and a tiger to determine on the raptors' movements. Ostrich was chosen because it is the largest existing bird and the fastest two-legged animal alive; McIntosh said the "length of the steps and the cadence of the steps informed the animators".^[185] McIntosh said tigers were also referenced because of their intense focus while running "where the body moves around the head but the head stays fixed and focused on its prey. The tiger also gave us the power of a predator that size charging and weaving through the jungle while on the hunt."^[185] For the hunting scene, the raptors' heads were extended forward, giving them a straight, tiger-like, head-to-tail silhouette. Some initial animation tests were created for the hunting sequence about four months before filming.^[185]
• Several individuals of Apatosaurus, including a practically built animatronic that was used for a sequence filmed in Kauaʻi, Hawaii, appear in the film.^{[213][214][15]} Because of the cost, Crowley was initially hesitant to have an animatronic created for the film but Trevorrow persuaded him fans of the series would enjoy it.^[15][158] The animatronic consisted of a seven-foot (2.1 m)-long section of the dinosaur's neck, which was used for a close-up shot depicting the animal's death.^[185] ILM used elephants as an example of the animation of the Apatosaurus. McIntosh stated that "there are no existing animals that have such large necks, but in terms of the size and steps they're taking, elephants are an excellent example of that. Also the way their skin jiggles and sags. You also have impact tremors that rise up through their legs as they take steps."^[185] Legacy Effects initially created a small model of the creature for use in the film; Spielberg decided a larger model would be better. The original model was scanned into a computer, allowing artists to create a 3-D model in the size needed for the film.^[220]
• The film's Tyrannosaurus rex is intended to be the same individual that appeared in the first film. Trevorrow said "we took the original design and obviously, technology has changed. So, it's going to move a little bit differently, but it'll move differently because it's older. And we're giving her some scars and we're tightening her skin. So, she has that feeling of, like, an older Burt Lancaster."^[221][216] The T. rex was portrayed using motion capture,^[142] and a full scale T. rex foot was created for lighting reference and to help with framing shots.^[185]
• According to Trevorrow, the film's Mosasaurus was designed to resemble dinosaurs designed by Winston for the franchise's earlier films: "We made sure to give her a look and a kind of personality in the way we designed her face that recalled Stan Winston's designs for many of the other dinosaurs in this world. She looks like a Jurassic Park dinosaur."^[218]
• Dimorphodon appears in Jurassic World, marking its first appearance in the series.^[15][216] Using motion capture, dwarf actor Martin Klebba stood in as a Dimorphodon for a scene in which one of the creatures tries to attack Owen.^{[219][222][223]} A full scale head of the creature was also created for the scene.^[185]
• Pteranodon.
• Pachycephalosaurus and Parasaurolophus.
• Ankylosaurus, one of Trevorrow's favorite dinosaurs, is featured in the film.^[158][142] It is one of several creatures he felt was deserving of a substantial scene.^[216] Trevorrow noted the death of one of the ankylosaurs as an example of moments in the film "that are designed to really make these creatures feel like living animals that you can connect to. Especially since so many of the themes in the film involve our relationship with animals on the planet right now, I wanted them to feel real."^[142]
• Stegosaurus and Triceratops appear in the film; for their movements, which include running, ILM studied the movements of rhinos and elephants, and copied their movements when animating the dinosaurs.^[185][218] According to Trevorrow, "In certain shots, you're looking at real animals running that just have a dinosaur's skin laid over".^[218]
• A running herd of approximately 60 Gallimimus makes an appearance in Jurassic World.^[185][224] Image Engine created the scene with more than 400 frames consisting of up to 50 layers that include clumps of grass, dirt and dust. Artists for Image Engine often viewed the dinosaur species' appearance in the first film,^[185] in which a group of running Gallimimus are also depicted.^[185][224] Jeremy Mesana, animation supervisor for Image Engine, said, "We were always going back and staring at that little snippet from the first film. It was always interesting trying to find the feeling of the Gallimimus. Trying to capture the same essence of that original shot was really tricky."^[185]
• Dilophosaurus appeared in the first film and makes a brief appearance in Jurassic World as a hologram in the theme park's visitor center.^[225][226]

Music

The musical score was composed by Michael Giacchino, who had previously scored the video games Warpath: Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.^[227] John Williams's themes from previous Jurassic Park scores were incorporated by Giacchino, who said; "It was a really targeted approach, as to where to [include Williams's themes] and where would make the most sense and where would we most appreciate it, as fans ourselves".^[228] A soundtrack album was released on June 9, 2015, by Back Lot Music.^[229]

Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape (2016)

In October 2016, a 24-minute animated children's film titled Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape was released as part of a Jurassic World DVD bundle set, receiving shared billing with the 2015 film; it is the first animated film spin-off from Jurassic Park to be released.^[265] The film is a prequel to Jurassic World and features most of the primary adult characters attempting to capture a hotdog-loving Indominus rex. Its voice cast consists of Zachary Levi, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Fred Tatasciore joined Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Bryce Dallas Howard and BD Wong.^[266] The animation received a 36% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.^[267]

Lego Jurassic World: Employee Safety Video (2016)

With the individual release of The Indominus Escape, a short film titled Lego Jurassic World: Employee Safety Video featuring BD Wong, David Gunning, Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus reprising their roles from The Indominus Escape was released.^[268][265]

Home media

Jurassic World was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on October 20, 2015.^[279] Upon release, it sold nearly three million Blu-ray and DVD units in its first week, making it the highest-selling home entertainment live-action film; both for Universal and of 2015. Across all digital and physical formats, Jurassic World collected $82.6 million in its first week.^[280][281] At the end of 2015, it was named the second-highest-selling video of the year in the UK, selling 1.05 million copies since its release. It was the third-highest-selling DVD and the second-highest-selling Blu-ray in the country.^[282] Jurassic World is included in the Jurassic Park 4K UHD Blu-Ray collection, which was released on May 22, 2018.^[283]

Charts

The DVD debuted at number-one on the UK DVD Charts.

Box office

Jurassic World grossed $652.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.019 billion in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.672 billion against a production budget of $150 million.^[5] It set a box office record during its opening weekend, becoming the first film to collect over $500 million in a single weekend and was the third-highest-grossing film of all time in both the U.S. and Canada and the world during its theatrical run.^[270] It is the second-highest-grossing film released in 2015 and the most lucrative in the Jurassic Park franchise.^{[298][299][300][301][302]} It is the second of three films following Furious 7 and Minions to surpass $1 million in 4DX admissions worldwide.^[303][304] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $474.63 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.^[305]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Jurassic World has an approval rating of 71% based on 315 reviews and an average rating of 6.7/10.^[354] The site's critical consensus reads, "Jurassic World can't match the original for sheer inventiveness and impact, but it works in its own right as an entertaining—and visually dazzling—popcorn thriller".^[354] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 59 out of 100 based on 49 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[355] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.^[308]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five and said it is a "terrifically enjoyable and exciting summer spectacular" and "savvy, funny, ridiculous in just the right way".^[356] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph also awarded it four stars, deeming it a worthy sequel to the original Jurassic Park and calling it "methodically paced and shot with an awestruck visual sense that's pure Spielberg".^[357] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it three stars out of four and wrote; "It's not the cynical, cash-in cheesefest you feared. OK, Jurassic World is a little of that. But this state-of-the-art dino epic is also more than a blast of rumbling, roaring, 'did you effing see that!' fun." He praised Trevorrow's direction, Pratt's and Howard's performances and the effects.^[358] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy criticized the romance between Owen and Claire; he said the film is not terribly scary but praised the CGI and score, and wrote that despite its shortcomings it would be appealing to audiences everywhere.^[359]

The Associated Press rated the film two stars out of four and called it "an ugly, over-saturated movie" that lacks the "deft sense of wonderment, wit and suspense that guided the original". The review praised the film's score as well as Pratt and Howard's performances.^[360] Spielberg said, "To see Jurassic World come to life is almost like seeing Jurassic Park come true,"^[361] while Sam Neill also praised the film and its acting.^[362] Several news publications, as well as Neill, noted the violence of Zara's death scene,^{[190][363][191][192]} although Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There's nothing amusing about the demise of Zara, who's as close to 'real people' as Jurassic World gets, and it's that unsettling quality about her death that more Hollywood disaster epics need in order to reclaim their visceral emotional prowess".^[364] Several news outlets, including The New York Times, New York and Slate, considered the film's depiction of Claire,^[252] including her use of high heels throughout the film, to be sexist.^{[365][366][367]} UK film website Movie Metropolis called Jurassic World a tasteful homage to the original but said it lacks some of that film's soul and rated it four stars out of five.^[368]

Several journalists have noted plot and character similarities between Jurassic World and the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea. Christopher Rosen, Senior News Director at Entertainment Weekly, tweeted that "Jurassic World is my favorite Deep Blue Sea remake of 2015".^[369] Entertainment website Dark Horizons stated in its coverage of Jurassic World that "some aren't warming to the Deep Blue Sea meets Jaws 3-D storyline",^[370] while entertainment website Flickering Myth posted the story "Deja Vu: Isn't Jurassic World just Deep Blue Sea with dinosaurs?", which outlined plot and character similarities between the two films.^[371] Pop culture website The Complex stated Jurassic World is "basically going to be the big budget Deep Blue Sea re-imagining that we all deserve. Scientists, driven by a cold near-heartless leader, tinkering with already smart animals. The beast whisperer who warns against fucking with nature. It's like watching Saffron Burrows and Thomas Jane flirt all over again."^[372]

Accolades

In December 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences placed Jurassic World on its shortlist of potential nominees for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 88th Academy Awards^[373] but was not nominated for an Academy Award. The film received the following nominations and awards from other organizations:

Scientific accuracy

A Twitter post attributed to Trevorrow stated there would be no feathered dinosaurs in the film.^[381] The first Jurassic Park film was lauded by paleontologists for depicting dinosaurs accurately and in keeping with the science of the time but later discoveries have challenged the view of dinosaurs as enormous, slow, lizard-like reptiles. Jurassic World was criticized for purposely ignoring new discoveries and knowledge. Several dinosaur researchers called the film a "dumb monster movie" for failing to include new discoveries about the creatures; for example, the feathers or proto-feathers that covered some dinosaurs and the way Velociraptor held its front limbs.^{[382][383][384]} Since the film's teaser trailer release, many paleontologists expressed their disappointment on Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs, calling the dinosaurs that were featured a retrograde step from the original Jurassic Park.^[385]

In response to these criticisms, Trevorrow said, "the film is scientifically 'inaccurate' because it is a science-fiction movie and not a documentary".^[383] The filmmakers had planned to depict feathered dinosaurs early in the film's development.^[386] A fictional review on the film's theme park website speculates that the use of amphibian DNA to fill the gaps in the dinosaur DNA—a plot point in the original novel and film—prevented the dinosaurs from growing feathers.^[387]

Writing credits dispute

At the end of March 2015, a Writers Guild of America (WGA) arbitration panel ruled that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would receive credit for writing the screenplay with Trevorrow and Connolly, who disagreed with the decision,^[388][389] although they decided that under WGA rules they had no grounds to appeal. They accepted the ruling on March 31, 2015.^[389] On April 2, 2015, it was reported that Universal Pictures originally wanted Trevorrow and Connolly to be credited for the screenplay; they were credited in the film's Super Bowl trailer as the only writers. It was then reported that they appealed the WGA's decision, that they wrote an entirely new screenplay that was not based on Jaffa and Silver's draft, and that they wanted full writing credit for the script.^[388]

On April 7, 2015, it was reported that the arbiters had unanimously denied Trevorrow's and Connolly's appeal in a second hearing held on April 3, and that they gave Jaffa and Silver an additional credit for writing the original story. Trevorrow and Connolly appealed the decision.^[390] Later that day, Trevorrow said he and Connolly had not appealed the WGA's original decision to give Jaffa and Silver co-credit for the screenplay, despite disagreeing with it. He also stated that he and Connolly were not informed of the second hearing until it was already over.^[389] The credits of the screenplay ultimately went to both writing teams; Jaffa and Silver were also being credited for writing the original story.^[389]