Jurassic World: Dominion won’t hit theaters until June 2022, but we just got a large and very exciting update. While on the press tour for his upcoming movie ‘Rams’, Sam Neill (aka Dr. Alan Grant, the dinosaur man himself) revealed a giant surprise: the new big bad dinosaur of the third Jurassic World film will be none other than Giganotosaurus.
In the interview, Neill says,
“I’ve just had the last five months working with dinosaurs, and it was really fun to do. We have a dinosaur called a Giganotosaurus … Apparently that’s the biggest dinosaur that’s ever been discovered. And, you know, it could eat you in a second if the guys on the controls didn’t like you.”
So, not only is a massive new dinosaur making its entrance into the Jurassic franchise, a full-size animatronic will make its presence even more terrifying in the film. As Neill said, the Giganotosaurus could swallow him whole if the team of puppeteers were feeling particularly murderous.
While Giganotosaurus has not yet appeared in a Jurassic Park or Jurassic World film, it is not without its heritage within the franchise. Most notably, early Indominus Rex designs, then known as the Malusaurus, looked strikingly similar to the towering titan.
The Giganotosaurus also appeared in early concept art for Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom.
Giganotosaurus was a Carcharodontosaur, one of the largest theropods to ever walk the earth. It lived roughly 98 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, and roamed what is now Argentina. Most modern estimates have it as large as a Tyrannosaur, though many posit that it grew even larger. Giganotosaurus didn’t live in the same time period or geographical area as T. rex, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this giant dinosaur crosses paths with a T. rex or another species now that it’s joining the roster of de-extinct creatures in the Jurassic franchise.
As for who cloned this dinosaur, we’re not sure, as it’s never appeared on InGen’s lists. However, its DNA contributing to the Indominus Rex suggests they at least had incomplete genomes of the animal. That being said, we firmly believe this animal is not from InGen’s lab, and is likely BioSyn’s crowned gem.
Check out our video below for a full breakdown of Sam Neill’s interview, the species reveal, the animatronic, and more.
It might be a long wait until 2022, but we cannot wait to learn more about the third Jurassic World film and the Giganotosaurus. Does this species reveal increase your excitement for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’?
Let us know in the comments below, and check out our YouTube channel for more Jurassic content, including everything we know about Jurassic World: Dominion so far!