Universal Studios released Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022, and the last movie in the Jurassic World trilogy featured dinosaurs living in snowy climates, but is this scientifically accurate? Dominion was the third feature film in the Jurassic World series and the sixth in the Jurassic Park franchise. Chris Pratt returned as Owen Grady alongside an ensemble cast featuring characters from both the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park trilogies. Grady and co. faced off against a range of dinos, from old favorites like the T-Rex and Velociraptor to new entries like the Pyroraptor and Carnotaurus.
Dominion is set four years after its predecessor Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the ending of which saw the dinosaurs escaping captivity into the civilized world. Among the slew of dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Dominion were several that found a new home in a snowy environment, and, what's more, appeared to be flourishing. One, a Pyroraptor, even smartly uses the surface of a frozen-over lake to hunt Owen. This goes against the notion of dinosaurs living exclusively in tropical biomes – a notion embraced by every Jurassic Park/World film thus far.
Did Jurassic World: Dominion ignore science the way some critics have claimed? No, it turns out. That idea was a mere misconception since it has already been confirmed by various scientific communities that certain species of dinosaurs did live in areas with colder weather. Recent discoveries have shown that dinosaurs were spread all over the globe before their extinction, including tundra zones like Greenland, Antarctica, and Alaska. After spending five feature films on tropical islands, exploring different environments was a departure from previous Jurassic films, but one backed by science. Even if they didn't really exist though, the third Jurassic World movie may still have featured snow dinos - the franchise isn't as scientifically accurate as some fans believe. Here's everything there is to know about the Jurassic World: Dominion dinosaurs in the snow, from how accurate they are to why it wouldn't matter much if they weren't.
Dinosaurs Had No Problem With Cold Weather
Over the past century, paleontologists across the globe have launched expeditions to determine whether dinosaurs lived in colder climates. Digs in Greenland, Alaska, and Antarctica were all successful in finding fossils of different dinosaur species, proving that not only did these prehistoric reptiles live on frozen land, but they also thrived there. Fossils of Jurassic Park/World's go-to dinos, Raptors, as well as Brachiosaurus, and more species were found in Northern Alaska, validating the film's decision to place those species in a snowy climate. Additionally, recent research confirmed that due to their mesothermic nature (being neither cold- nor warm-blooded), dinosaurs were able to survive in a variety of climates, including temperature extremes. This was further bolstered by the discovery of dinosaur fossils in Alaskan peaks, where temperatures dropped below -40 F.
While Dominion wasn't the first Jurassic Park film to put a dinosaur in the middle of human civilization (The Lost World: Jurassic Park famously put a T-Rex in San Diego), it did so on a much bigger scale than any of its predecessors. The film was a globe-trotting adventure and a stark departure from the previous films in the Jurassic franchise, all of which were primarily set on previously uncharted islands. It was an unconventional move for a dinosaur film to be set in a snowy environment, yet the science proved that Dominion didn't render itself historically inaccurate by doing so (at least not when it came to this specific detail). Both Jurassic Park and Jurassic World have plenty of inaccuracies when it comes to their dinos, but when it comes to cold weather dinosaurs, the franchise hasn't gone against current scientific understanding.
Real Snow Dinos Aside, Jurassic World Chose Spectacle Over Realism
Jurassic World: Dominion adhered to scientific accuracy up to the point that the plot required they ignore it, just like every Jurassic movie that preceded it. Even 1993's Jurassic Park wasn't as accurate as many believe. The obvious example here is the lack of feathers on the dinosaurs. Many fans believe the reason that the Jurassic Park dinos have no feathers and instead have leathery skin is that it was made prior to feathered dinosaurs becoming the scientific consensus. However, the shift toward feathered dinosaurs from the previously-held view of dinosaurs as huge lizards began as early as the 1960s. If anything, Jurassic Park is responsible for public perception of dinosaurs taking so long to catch up to the reality as known by paleontologists. While a big-budget Hollywood movie is never expected to be as accurate as productions like David Attenborough's Walking With Dinosaurs, it still warrants pointing out that the Jurassic franchise has gained an undeserved reputation for being more accurate than it actually is (or makes any effort to be).
One of Dominion's new dinosaurs, the Pyroraptor, is a testament to the franchise putting spectacle over science (although ironically, it is the first feathered dinosaur to feature in a Jurassic movie). The Pyroraptor shows after Owen's plane crash-lands, and proceeds to hunt Own and Kayla across a frozen lake. This includes a sequence where it nimbly swims through the water. There's no evidence that Pyroraptors were aquatic hunters, that they could hunt solo, or that they were cold-weather dinosaurs. Why did the film opt for this? Because the sequence was incredibly cool and made for a great scene.
So, while the concept of snow dinos is accurate, Dominion didn't pay much mind to the specific dinosaurs it portrayed as being happy in cold weather. However, all the dinosaurs in Jurassic World and Jurassic Park are clones, and none have pure DNA. This gives the movies a definite get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to accuracy. Sadly, though, it also proved to be something of a trap for the franchise, as Jurassic World lost itself in a convoluted human clone subplot. Since it already was verging heavily into sci-fi territory, Jurassic World: Dominion would more than likely still have included snow dinosaurs even if there was literally no evidence for their existence.