Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Jurassic World Dominion.Jurassic World: Dominion expands the vast lore of the Jurassic Park franchise yet remains filled with several exciting Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs and references to past installments. These callbacks range from being on the nose to some more cleverly veiled within the script or set design. They give Dominion its charming nostalgic quality that's kept the film afloat amid harsh critique, though every Jurassic World Dominion Easter egg needs its context explained to fully shine. The nostalgia emulated from this movie has become a point of contention in reviews for feeling forced but Jurassic World Dominion's box office success proves nostalgia may have played the biggest role in the film's turnout.
Jurassic Park inspired reminiscent themes, symbols, and memorabilia that the franchise has entertained audiences with for decades. From the screeching Dilophosaurus to Ian Malcolm's flare gun, Dominion's Easter eggs only scrape the surface of what the movie has to offer in terms of nostalgia. Recent scenes referencing the Jurassic Park films expand upon the original scenes by enhancing or changing them in a way that makes them feel new and improved. These are all the Jurassic World Easter eggs and references of the Jurassic Park franchise in the film comprehensively explained.
The Jurassic Park Franchise Logo Recreated
Jurassic Park is one of the most well-known films in the world, but its logo is even more memorable. It depicts the fossilized figure of a T-Rex in a circular frame. One of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs is found during the end of the film in a scene where the T-Rex recreates the symbol live. There is a circular fountain at BioSyn that the T-Rex walks behind as he's hunting the main characters. He stops in the center of the fountain's frame to maximize the resemblance to the Jurassic Park poster. The live-action recreation of the logo doesn't emulate what makes the original so unique since it isn't nearly as vibrant and the reference is on-the-nose enough to take the audience out of the action and suspense.
The Return Of Jurassic Park's Dilophosaurus
One of the most iconic dinosaurs regularly popping up in the Jurassic Park franchise is the Dilophosaurus, a dinosaur that can spit venom and display a mane of neck frills. Though the deadlier traits of the Dilophosaurus are fictionalized for the enjoyment of the audience, they remain one of the more frightening antagonists. In Jurassic World Dominion, Claire Dearing is attempting to escape BioSyn's Dinosaur-infested reservations and comes across a herd of Dilophosaurus'. An up-close shot of one Dilophosaurus erecting its frills and hissing at her one of the direct Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs to Dennis Nedry's momentous demise in Jurassic Park. Nedry was confronted by a Dilophosaurus in a scene that is identically replicated with Claire in Dominion as a blatant callback. Later in Dominion, Dr. Lewis Dodgson is also killed by a herd of Dilophosaurus' who broke into his hyperloop car.
Jurassic Park’s Electric Fence Reference
There are many new characters introduced in Jurassic World Dominion. Ramsay Cole, who is head of communications at BioSyn, plays a major part in the narrative when he decides to help Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant thwart Dodgson's locusts' scheme. When he first meets the two of them, he discusses John Hammond's discoveries and the park he founded with Alan. Specifically, he asks whether Alan knows how much voltage was contained in the original park's electric fences. Alan Grant says he does which one of the humorous Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs to the tense scene in Jurassic Park where Alan watches Tim get shocked by the T-Rex's fence. This interaction is ironic since Tim's near-death resulted in a lucky outcome Alan can't easily forget.
A Velociraptor Resonating Chamber In Alan Grant’s Tent
This one of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs is easier to miss than Dominion's other callbacks. When Ellie Sattler comes to visit Alan Grant at his paleontology work site in Jurassic World Dominion, Alan has memorabilia from previous films laid out inside his tent. The Velociraptor resonating chamber from Joe Johnston's Jurassic Park III is one of these items, but it's hard to spot since the scene focuses on Alan's attempts to hide an old picture of him and Ellie. At the end of JP3, Alan uses a replicated Velociraptor larynx to confuse a pack of Raptors. They are distracted and he and his group narrowly escape a gruesome fate. The prop isn't mentioned by any character in Dominion, but its existence in the movie is a fun callback to a heroic Alan Grant moment. The reason he still has it on hand might be because he considers it a trophy for being able to overcome a savage predicament in nature.
Ellie Sattler's Sunglasses
Ellie Sattler taking off her sunglasses is one of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs noticed first in Dominion's trailer. It's a callback to the scene in Jurassic Park where John Hammond is showing Sattler, Malcolm, and Grant the dinosaurs he's genetically resurrected for the first time. Ellie and Alan both take off their sunglasses, in awe at the sight. In Jurassic World Dominion, this scene is vaguely referenced when Ellie removes her sunglasses in shocked response to BioSyn's destructive locusts. While it harks back to her astonishment from the original film, this reaction is different since it's done out of horror.
Dr. Alan Grant’s Hat
A signature aspect of Alan Grant's wardrobe is the hat he's worn since Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III. It's a brown fedora that makes several appearances in Dominion, but most notably when it's dropped in BioSyn's tunnels, and he risks his life to get it back. While it's a risk almost too silly to be taken seriously, this instance solidifies the importance of the hat for Alan Grant's character arc. He holds his past close to his heart, as shown by the memorabilia in his tent, and the fedora is a part of his legacy. It is worth noting that Ellie and Ian dress similarly to how they used to as well, with Malcolm still wearing black leather and tinted glasses. This proves that they have all changed and grown as characters, but their cores remain the same.
Dennis Nedry’s Barbasol Can
Dennis Nedry famously loses Lewis Dodgson's Barbasol can when he's confronted and killed by a venom-spitting Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park. Dodgson, played originally by Cameron Thor, gives the can to Nedry in hopes he'll smuggle dinosaur embryos out of Hammond's facility. The Barbasol holding 15 smuggled dinosaur embryos slips down a muddy cliff and is seemingly lost forever once Nedry is killed. Jurassic World Dominion reveals that Dodgson somehow retrieved the Barbasol can because it is one of the few essential items he takes with him when the BioSyn lab starts to burn down. It's unknown how he found it or if the embryos were still viable once he did, but this one of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs implies that the can Nedry secured somehow helped Dodgson with his genetic work. The Barbasol reminds Dodgson of his successes which is likely why he chooses to take it when all his hard work is crumbling down around him.
Ian Malcolm’s Flare Distraction
Jurassic Park has become such a classic that almost every scene is considered its most memorable. However, Ian Malcolm's flare distraction is undeniably an unforgettable moment in cinematic history. Jurassic World Dominion not only references this scene upon Jeff Goldblum's return but improves upon Malcolm's original method of distraction as one of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs. This time, instead of a flare, Malcolm distracts a Giganotosaurus with a burning locust on a stick. He failed to avert the focus of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park by throwing the flare in the woods and took that into account this time. The new scene proves Malcolm has gained more wisdom in the years since the events of Jurassic Park took place by waving a food source for the dinosaur in front of it. It's just as thrilling as the original scene and shows Malcolm is still willing to risk his life to save others.
A Tyrannosaurus-Rex Saves The Day
Since Jurassic Park, the Tyrannosaurus-Rex has acted not only as a fearsome antagonist but as a surprising protagonist. For the final climax of Jurassic World Dominion, a T-Rex from BioSyn's sanctuary saves the main characters from a fierce attack by a Giganotosaurus. This action-packed scene is one of the Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs referencing the T-Rex in Jurassic Park that saved the original characters from a pack of Raptors. This time, the T-Rex isn't alone. While the ending of Dominion is movingly nostalgic, it individualizes its place in the franchise by allowing the Therizinosaurus to help the T-Rex bring about the Giganotosaurus' downfall. The Tyrannosaurus-Rex saves the day again and satisfyingly caps off the movie.
Dominion didn't live up to audiences' expectations but the film included enough callbacks to the Jurassic Park films that its downsides are dismissible. Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, and Alan Grant's return to the franchise is a novel circumstance, and should it ever be repeated, the Jurassic World movies will likely have more Easter eggs in store. As it stands, these were the explanations for Jurassic World Dominion's Easter eggs and references.
Dominion Should Have Leaned Into Its Jurassic Park Roots More
The Jurassic World Dominion Easter eggs aside, part of the reason that the third Jurassic World movie failed isn't that it leaned too heavily on nostalgia — it didn't lean heavily enough. There was a lot of excitement leading up to Jurassic World 3 when it was announced that the titular stars of Jurassic Park would be returning for the installment. While Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Alan Grant (Sam Niell), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) did play larger roles in the film's plot, their overt presence wasn't the issue. Rather, the Jurassic World trilogy strayed too far from its roots.
There are arguments over when and how this started to happen, with many pointing the finger at the new genetically modified dinosaurs or the Maisie Lockwood clone twist. There's no question that once human cloning was added to the mix that the Jurassic World series started to run off in the wrong direction. Rather than focus in on the Maisie Lockwood clone twist, Jurassic World Dominion should've stayed in its original lane and explored the dinosaurs' effect on modern society. Fallen Kingdom got the ball rolling with unleashing the dinosaurs on the public, but it also included the human cloning storyline which soured the franchise moving forward. Jurassic World Dominion failed because it couldn't stick closely enough to its Jurassic Park roots, exploring instead something completely unrelated.