Jurassic World Dominion’s finale really should have been a rematch between the Spinosaurus and the T-rex. Jurassic Park was an enormous success in 1993, making a sequel something of a given. The Lost World: Jurassic Park marked Steven Spielberg’s first time in the director’s chair after taking a break for a few years, but he’s since admitted he was bored making the sequel. This is reflected in the final product, which despite some creative setpieces, feels oddly leaden in places. Spielberg thus skipped out on Jurassic Park III, would is one of the more controversial entries in the saga.
Director Joe Johnston took the baton for Jurassic Park III, which features Sam Neill’s Alan Grant being duped into a rescue mission to Isla Sorna. Production difficulties meant the movie never had a finished screenplay, leading to a slim story and a focus on constant chase sequences. To the movie’s credit, it does have some great action, but its abrupt ending and goofy sense of humor are two issues audiences had. The sequel also introduced the Spinosaurus to take the place of the T-rex from previous movies and to establish the threat it poses, it’s seen killing a T-rex following its introduction.
While this might have been a simple way to underline the Spinosaurus’ menace, the ease with which it dispatches the T-rex has long been a source of anger among the fanbase. Director Colin Trevorrow poked fun at this controversy in Jurassic World, where “Rexy” – the nickname for the original T-rex introduced in Jurassic Park – is seen destroying a Spinosaurus skeleton. While the dinosaur later camoed in animated spin-off Camp Cretaceous, it didn’t physically appear in any of the Jurassic World sequels, which was a missed opportunity in Dominion’s case.
A Spinosaurus/T-Rex Rematch Could Have Paid Off Their Series Rivalry
Jurassic World Dominion was pitched as the epic finale of the entire series, and in keeping with the franchise’s habit of introducing ever more fearsome dinos, it ended with Rexy fighting the “biggest” carnivore the Giganotosaurus. While the battle itself served as an entertaining setpiece, it lacked any real emotional investment. Introducing yet another “bigger, stronger” dinosaur felt like a gimmick, and Trevorrow missed a trick by not just bringing back the Spinosaurus for a rematch.
Jurassic Park III was mildly controversial for suggesting that the Spinosaurus was the alpha predator, so bringing it back to fight with Rexy could have settled this dispute. Rexy is depicted as a little older and slower in Jurassic World Dominion, which adds some tension to the final brawl, but she still emerges victorious against the Giganotosaurus. This could easily have been the outcome of a Spinosausus/T-rex rematch too, with the added bonus of definitely settling the debate over which dinosaur was the most powerful. This may have run the risk of being too fanbait-y, of course, but given that rest of the sequel had little trouble with that, it should have gone all in.
