Jurassic World: Dominion digging up 65-million-year-old 'prologue' to show ahead of IMAX F9 screenings

The cup of water sitting on our dashboard is starting to ripple again. After more than a year of delays, Jurassic World: Dominion is finally ramping up its larger-than-life marketing campaign with an extended preview that will play before IMAX screenings of F9 (out in North America Friday, June 25).

"Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to see dinosaurs in their natural habitat," Dominion's director and co-writer, Colin Trevorrow, said in a statement. "It may have taken a few decades, but with a little help from ILM, Universal, and Amblin, it has finally happened. This preview is just a glimpse of the film we’ve made. It’s an epic celebration of everything Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton created, and I can’t wait to share it with the world next summer."

Described as "a prologue" to the main story, the 5-minute sneak peek is set 65 million years ago in the Cretaceous period when...*clears throat*...DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. Mr. DNA is on vacation, but Michael Giacchino’s score will be there to guide viewers through the origin story of a lone mosquito that decides to slurp up some tasty dino-blood. The release also promises (count em') SEVEN new species never before glimpsed within the Jurassic franchise. And just before you think it's all over, the preview excavates "some real trademark Jurassic surprises with dinosaurs later roaming an Earth that is decidedly less theirs alone," reads the synopsis.

"As part of our celebration [of] welcoming moviegoers back into theaters this summer, we couldn’t think of a more perfect way to say, ‘thank you’ to the hundreds of millions of Jurassic and Fast fans around the world,” added Jim Orr, President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution for Universal Pictures. “This first look at Jurassic World: Dominion that Colin and his team put together is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Even better, there’s simply no more perfect place to experience both the Dominion preview and F9 than on a massive IMAX screen. This really is the ultimate movie-fan experience."

To ring in the announcement, Universal revealed a teaser image and poster for the prehistoric prologue. The still shows off a feathery dinosaur (many scientists agree that they did indeed have feathers) standing next to the gaping maw of another, bigger dinosaur. The poster, on the other hand, shows a mosquito drinking its fill of blood from the scaly hide of some primeval creature. "It all started here," reads the tagline — a nice callback to how John Hammond cloned his zoo of antediluvian beasts by extracting blood from mosquitoes trapped in fossilized amber.

Take a look below:

Credit: Universal Pictures

Credit: Universal Pictures

“This sequence was made to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Luckily, IMAX theaters are back, and all over the world we’re returning to theaters because movies bring us closer together,” Trevorrow said. “I think we need that shared experience right now … maybe more than we ever have.”

Following the events of 2018's Fallen Kingdom, Dominion picks up in a world overrun by giant, man eating lizards. Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing) headline a T. rex-sized cast that also includes the original Jurassic Park trio of Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), and Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm).

"I think people may be underestimating the size and importance of Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum’s characters in this movie," Trevorrow told SYFY WIRE last year. "It is very much an ensemble and that element, the ability to take these beloved characters from almost 30 years now and understand how they interact with each other in the context of a world that we’ve really never seen before and have not been able to witness until now — it’s very exciting for me. I’m having the time of my life."

Mamoudou Athie, Scott Haze, Dichen Lachman, Daniella Pineda, Campbell Scott, Isabella Sermon, Justice Smith, Omar Sy, DeWanda Wise, and BD Wong co-star. Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim: Uprising) executive produces alongside Steven Spielberg and Alexandra Derbyshire. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley are producers.

Originally slated for release this coming Friday, Jurassic World: Dominion was one of many studio tentpoles delayed by the COVID-19 health crisis. The film resumed its production last summer, also making it one of the largest Hollywood projects to restart filming amid the pandemic.

Dominion, which wrapped its shoot last November, will now stomp into theaters on June 10, 2022.