Jurassic World: Dominion has all the bombastic music you’d expect from a bumper dinosaur finale

10 June 2022, 09:07

Jurassic World: Dominion hit screens across the world in June 2022 with more dinosaur disasters and I-7-I musical phrasing than ever before.

The highly anticipated end to the Jurassic World trilogy is here.

Universal has positioned Jurassic World: Dominion as an end to the Jurassic franchise. It’s the third film of the Jurassic World trilogy, and the sixth film in the overall Jurassic series (which started with the Jurassic Park trilogy from 1993 to 2001).

Known for its iconic music, visionary technical effects, and a story full of heart and soul, the first Jurassic Park film captured the hearts of many in 1993, and the subsequent five films have gone on to draw extensive box office figures because of this.

Jurassic World: Dominion was released on 10 June 2022 along with the film’s full soundtrack, dividing fans and critics. We take a spoiler-free dive into the world of Dominion to learn more about the soundtrack and the casting decisions.

Read more: John Williams conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in exhilarating ‘Jurassic Park’ theme

Watch the official trailer for Jurassic World: Dominion

What’s the plot of Jurassic World: Dominion?

The storyline of Jurassic World: Dominion carries on from the previous two films in the series, Jurassic World (2015), and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

At the end of Fallen Kingdom, Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Ian Malcolm, declared the beginning of a neo-Jurassic Age, where humans and dinosaurs must coexist.

Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar (the island that housed Jurassic World, and almost three decades previously, Jurassic Park) was destroyed. Dinosaurs now live – and hunt – alongside humans all over the world.

A five-minute prologue to the 2022 film Jurassic World Dominion was released in 2021 (see below), providing further context to the dinosaurs repopulation around the world. Though originally an IMAX-exclusive preview, it was released as a short film online later.

Read more: Jeff Goldblum amazes Glastonbury fans with Jurassic Park theme during piano set

Watch the Jurassic World 3 Prologue trailer

Who is in the cast of Jurassic World: Dominion?

From the previous Jurassic World films, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are both returning as the protagonists Owen Grady and Claire Dearing.

However, actors from the original 1993 Jurassic Park film will also be returning including Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill, who are reprising their characters as Dr. Ellie Sattler, Dr. Ian Malcolm, and Dr. Alan Grant.

On his reason to returning to the Jurassic franchise Neill told Gizmodo that the director, Colin Trevorrow, was a big reason he decided to come back.

“I was getting rumors from my agent that Universal was talking about [the third film], and they wanted me and Jeff and Laura to be in it, but I didn’t really want to be in something where I’d just be playing a cameo. That was not really interesting to me.

“But Trevorrow took me out to lunch. We had a long lunch, quite a lot of paella and a bottle or two of [indistinguishable] and yeah, and I was well persuaded by the end of that.

“[So the reason I came back was] mostly because of his great and abiding affection for those characters and how he wanted them to be completely integrated into the Jurassic World world. And so that persuaded me. And also the idea of hanging out with Jeff and Laura again which, of course, is an attractive one in itself.”

Jurassic Park conducted by a dinosaur

Who composed the music for Jurassic World: Dominion?

Michael Giacchino, who wrote the music for the previous two Jurassic World films, returned as the composer for Dominion.

The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London over the course of 10 days in 2021, and Giacchino teased this activity with a post on Twitter at the time.

Giacchino, who also scored the recent 2022 superhero film, The Batman, posted a teaser picture on Twitter of the world premiere screening of the film the week of release.

The full soundtrack for Dominion is out now and you can listen to all the tracks here.

Read more: Why Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’? The Batman soundtrack explained

"Da Plan And Da Cycle" by Michael Giacchino from JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

The bombastic nature of the music is what we’ve come to expect from Giacchino, and the underlying fantastical nature of the score easily transports the listener into this alternative world where dinosaurs run free.

Not everyone has been so keen on Giacchino’s treatment of the music however. Many musical fans have a particular love for the original 1993 Jurassic Park theme, by John Williams, which captured the hearts of many with its soaring melodic lines and stirring chord progressions.

Some Williams fans find Giacchino’s treatment of the score too brash as opposed to its melodic predecessor, and some musicians have taken to social media to share their opinions on why they think the iconic 1-7-1 theme in the Dominion trailer is overused.

The music in the prologue released last year however, has already garnered praise for Giacchino from fans with his introduction of new themes, alongside throwbacks to Williams’ original score.

Read more: We’ve worked out John Williams’ secret to starting a great melody, and it’s unbelievably simple

Jurassic World: Dominion is out in cinemas now.