Jurassic World Rebirth introduced several new and scary dinosaurs to the franchise, expanding the universe with another cautionary tale that continues to highlight the cost of playing God. The seventh entry stars Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali alongside Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. Picking up five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion (2022), the standalone sequel follows an expedition to extract DNA from three gigantic prehistoric creatures — Mosasaurus, Titanosaurus, and Quetzalcoatlus.
Released to lukewarm critical reviews, Jurassic World Rebirth has gradually gained more positive responses, shifting the overall opinion to a favorable light. While the reactions are still mixed, its commercial success isn’t in doubt. The movie has thus far grossed over $575 million against its production cost of $180 million. Apart from its stunning visuals, action sequences, and strong lead performances, Jurassic World Rebirth’s appeal can be attributed to its multiple hat-tippings to previous works in the franchise. From the books to the movies, here are some Easter eggs to look out for in the latest Jurassic World film.
1. The Homage To The Jurassic Park Creator
The fourth Jurassic World film didn’t fail to recognize Michael Crichton, the brain behind the enduring sci-fi franchise. In an early scene depicting Martin Kerbs (Friend) and Zora Bennett (Johansson) driving around New York City, they drove past a school bus with the inscription, “Crichton Middle School.” This isn’t the movie’s only acknowledgment of the Franchise’s creator.
David Koepp, the screenwriter on the latest installment, told Entertainment Weekly that Crichton’s books were extremely influential on Rebirth. For instance, when Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey) said, “The oxygen levels are different, solar radiation is different, the temperatures are different, everything is different about it. What makes you think that it’s all going to go fine?” It was a reference to a line in Crichton’s original book.
2. The Delgados Encounter With A Swimming T. rex
One of Jurassic World Rebirth’s notable sequences follows the Delgados, a family trapped on the island after embarking on a boat trip. As their story unfolds, they encounter a swimming T. rex and make a desperate escape in an inflatable boat. Crichton’s original book inspired this sequence, which also commemorates a breakthrough over a major setback during the making of the first Jurassic film.
The sequence was omitted in 1993’s Jurassic Park due to its cost implications. “It was 1992 and nobody knew if the CGI was going to work, much less be able to make a dinosaur swim,” explained Koepp, who co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with Crichton. “It was already expensive enough and with unproven technology, so it didn’t work,” added the screenwriter.
3. The Banner About Dinosaurs Dominion
Another connection to the original film, Jurassic World Rebirth’s banner about dinosaur dominion pays tribute to the memorable ending of Jurassic Park. In the scene where Kerbs and Zora meet Dr. Loomis to join their expedition, a banner that reads “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” hangs over a headless skeleton of a T. rex in the background. The same banner features in the original film’s ending, where a T. rex fights and defeats two raptors. It also acknowledges a chapter from the third iteration of the Jurassic Park novel titled “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.”
4. The Jeep Hurtling Down A Mountain
Jurassic World Rebirth has a nail-biting scene depicting Kerbs in a jeep hurtling down a mountain to evade a Mutadon. The scene is a reference to a moment in Crichton’s 1995 sequel novel, The Lost World. The book features a similar scene, where raptors menaced a jeep into careening down a steep hill. In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, Koepp confirmed that the scene was pulled from The Lost World. “I use bits of that,” he said.
5. Duncan, The Red Flare, And D-REX
The Jurassic World Rebirth scene, where a red flare is used to distract a mutated Tyrannosaurus, is another callback reaching out to the original film. As Duncan Kincaid, the leader of Zora’s covert team, Mahershala Ali embodies the sequence reminiscence of Jeff Goldblum’s Ian in Jurassic Park. Just like Ian did to a T. rex in the first film, Duncan waves a red flare at a D. rex to distract the creature and help others escape. The scene is a nod to Goldblum’s contribution to the iconic franchise. Check out these iconic Meg Griffin rejections in Family Guy.
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