Life may find a way, but for the third movie in the Jurassic World trilogy it’s going to take a little bit longer to find it.
Originally slated for next summer, Jurassic World: Dominion has now been delayed a full year. It will now open in theaters on June 10, 2022.
Another rescheduling victim in the ongoing pandemic era, the delay of the sixth film in the Jurassic franchise has less to do with other films shifting their debuts as it does as with what filming has become in the age of COVID: more expensive, more complicated, and needing more time to complete.
UPDATE: More time is needed because of things like this — positive COVID cases that require a two-week pause on production. (A tweet from director Colin Trevorrow.)
The delay is probably an easy one to make for Universal Pictures. With every other franchise tentpole being paused and reshuffled on the movie release calendar, the industry has come full circle to a simple reality: films that had been set for 2020, 2021 and 2022 have all essentially been bumped a full year from their originally planned releases.
Despite the lackluster reception of the previous sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, anticipation has been growing for the climatic capper in this latest dino-trilogy, particularly with the return of the original trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. According to Trevorrow, all three will have “substantial roles” that are well beyond glorified cameos (which is what Goldblum’s brief appearance was in Fallen Kingdom). They will star alongside returning World leads Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
(To see the short film Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock, click here. Directed by Trevorrow, it’s intended as a tease for what’s to come in Jurassic World: Dominion.)
