'Jurassic World: Dominion' Will Complete The Original T-Rex's Franchise-Long Journey

The Tyrannosaurus rex from Jurassic Park has come a long way. First appearing onscreen in the original 1993 film, the T-Rex has evolved from main movie monster to anti-hero, facing off with the terrifying Indominus rex in Jurassic World. And her story continues in Jurassic World: Dominion, and Colin Trevorrow shared the details with us.

It's hard to think of the Jurassic Park films without thinking of the T-Rex, the largest dinosaur in the original park who became the fearsome icon of the franchise. So it's no wonder Trevorrow was tempted to bring her back. And bring her back again. The original T-Rex from the first Jurassic Park film made for an unlikely ally in 2015's Jurassic World and that arc will continue in Jurassic World: Dominion.

In an interview with /Film's Vanessa Armstrong (who also has a reaction to the first footage from the highly anticipated dinosaur sequel), Trevorrow explained how the T-Rex will complete her story arc, which has been 28 years in the making:

"We will see her in the third film, and this is really setting up her arc in the third film. The T-Rex has been through a lot. I'm with you, I find her to be a major character as well. She started on Isla Nublar, a park that never opened and then she went through the events of Jurassic World, which were probably pretty traumatic for her. Then her home was destroyed and she was taken to a totally foreign environment, and now she's basically on the run from the cops, and it's all really stressful. I want her to live in peace. That's all I want for her. So hopefully, the audience will want the same thing."

It's funny to see how the films have evolved: what was once a perfect monster blockbuster has become a kaiju-style franchise where the dinosaurs get their own arcs that are more richly drawn than that of the human characters.

The T-Rex was the main star of the first Jurassic Park that John Hammond planned to open at Isla Nublar in 1993's Jurassic Park. But after a tropical storm hit the island, she was also its most dangerous escapee. In a famous scene from the original film, the T-Rex attacks the visitors in their tour vehicles, some of whom barely escape (and some become dinner). Toward the end of the film, the T-Rex makes her way into the Visitor Center, chomping on some attacking Velociraptors and roaring in triumph as the "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" sign falls to the ground beside her.

In Jurassic World, the T-Rex is kept in her paddock for most of the film until Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) lets her out to help kill the hybrid Indominus rex. She manages to do just that with the help of Blue, the surviving velociraptor, who the T-Rex then decides to spare. Real kaiju movie energy there.

She makes a brief appearance in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, popping up to kill a Carnotaurus as the Isla Nublar volcano erupts. Then she's sedated and brought to the Lockwood Manor with the other dinosaurs. She's eventually freed along with the other dinosaurs by Claire, fleeing the manor, and escaping into the wild.

We'll find out what happens to the T-Rex next in Jurassic World: Dominion, which hits theaters on June 10, 2022.