‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ filming wraps, records 40,000 COVID tests, $6-8M in protocols
Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion wrapped production today in the UK’s Pinewood Studios, marking the end of an unprecedented shoot that involved millions of dollars spent on protocols, keeping the cast and crew isolated in a bubble for months, and over 40,000 COVID-19 tests.
The upcoming sequel to the 2018 film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is the third film in the Jurassic World series and the sixth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, originally launched with Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation based on the 1990 novel by Michael Chrichton.
The movie’s finale features veterans from the original 1993 film Sam Neill (Dr. Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Dr. Ellie Sattler), and Jeff Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm), alongside the next generation of Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing). Joining the film are newcomers Mamoudou Athie and DeWanda Wise.
The cast and crew had faced an intense and epic rollercoaster of a shoot with pre-production on Jurassic World: Dominion beginning more than 18 months ago before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
According to a report by Deadline, the film was the first major studio movie to go back into production after the pandemic enforced lockdowns in spring and derailed the entire movie industry.
To bring this latest dino-venture to life, Universal commissioned a private medical facility to manage the entire production’s medical requirements, including administering thousands of COVID-19 tests to cast and crew members.
Deadline revealed that “More than 40,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted, with .25% returning positive. That’s around 100 positive results. Some of these were false positives and some were returned prior to employment at Pinewood.”
The studio also set up a policed "Greenzone" for the production cast, crew, and workers who had to undergo temperature-testing every day. Two walk-through temperature testing stations were built at each end of Pinewood Studios with a capacity of 1,000 crew over two hours, while each test station had a compliment of doctors, nurses and isolation booths.
All in all, the studio spent between $6-8M on protocols alone, according to the Deadline report.
The efforts also involved creating a bubble for the cast and crew at a UK hotel for the shooting period where they were kept isolated from their friends and family.
Universal Chairman Donna Langley told Deadline, “As we continue to contend with the challenges facing our industry during a global pandemic, the collaborative nature of this production allowed us to safely complete nearly 100 days of shooting, and we are so proud of what this team was able to accomplish.”
Director Colin Trevorrow called the experience “remarkable,” praising everyone involved in the film: “Our crew and our cast has been so resilient. All producers have worked around the clock to make it the best it can be. It has been inspiring.”
Jurassic Park alum Sam Neill took to Twitter to bid farewall to the film, retweeting the director’s filming wrap photo, stating, “There were days we thought we might not make it. But we have…we pulled off what seemed well nigh impossible.”
There were days we thought we might not make it. But we have...we pulled off what seemed well nigh impossible . Great crew. Lovely cast . Top director. Phew- and CELEBRATIONS. #JurassicWorldDominion #JurassicPark https://t.co/MCzIo3efxF
— Sam Neill (@TwoPaddocks) November 8, 2020
Because if there’s anything that three decades of dinosaur movies has taught us, it’s that life will find a way.
Jurassic World: Dominion is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 10, 2022.
(Images from Unviersal Pictures)