A lot of dinosaurs make an appearance in the new short film Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock. The short picks up from the ending of last year’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, with the dinosaurs that once populated the park now roaming freely among humans. Colin Trevorrow, director of 2015’s Jurassic World, returned to helm the new film, which was filmed in secret and given quite a surprise release on Sunday evening.
The short is obviously intended as a kind of interstitial between Fallen Kingdom and its upcoming sequel, which is set to be released in 2021, and Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock was released online at quite short notice. In just eight minutes, Battle at Big Rock is a great Jurassic World movie, not only delivering a more modern chapter in the series but also setting high expectations for what the next film has in store with the premise of dinosaurs now co-existing among humans.
Audiences had previously been given a glimpse at that very scenario during the T-Rex’s San Diego rampage in the climax of 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. However, the ending of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom promises a much more in-depth exploration of the idea of humans now sharing the world with dinosaurs in the franchises future, with a returning Ian Malcom ominously intoning “Welcome to Jurassic World” as the dinosaurs gain their newfound freedom. Battle at Big Rock clearly aims to offer fans of the series a small taste of what’s in store for Jurassic World 3, and despite its short running time, the film manages to incorporate a wide range of different dinosaurs into its story. Here are all the dinosaurs that appear in Battle at Big Rock.
Allosaurus
The primary antagonist of Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock, the Allosaurus lived during the Jurassic period approximately 150 million years ago. A predator like the famed T-Rex, the Allosaurus first appeared in Jurassic World (albeit only via Holoscape). Despite the destruction of Isla Nebular, there were still some Allosaurus living on the island, where they’re among those captured and taken to the mainland U.S. in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The Allosaurus is ultimately among the dinosaurs freed at the end of Fallen Kingdom. That very same Allosaurus wanders into a camping ground in Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock and preys upon a family of Triceratops, along with a human family camping in the forest.
Nasutoceratops
The Nasutoceratops lived during the late Cretaceous period, and was only discovered as a species back in 2013, where it was found they lived in what’s now Utah. Similar to the Triceratops, although smaller in size and with horns on the side of their head, Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock is the movie debut of the Nasutoceratops, and true to what we know they’re peaceful herbivores who don’t pose any sort of threat to the humans. Unfortunately, that makes them a target for the Allosaurus, who attacks the two we see in the short film.
Compsognathus (“Compys”)
Most of the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock appear during the end credits, beginning with Compsognathus, better known by their nickname of “Compys”, who lived during the Jurassic period. Although the tiniest dinosaurs in the series, they are nevertheless among the deadliest, and play an especially prominent role in The Lost World, first being seen attacking the daughter of a wealthy family that’s stumbled onto Isla Nublar unaware that the island is populated with dinosaurs. Later in the film, their full viciousness is shown when they attack and devour Dieter Stark alive in a loose recreation of John Hammond’s death in Michael Crichton’s first Jurassic Park novel. The Compys would also appear in Jurassic Park III and Fallen Kingdom, and make a return to the Jurassic Park series during the end credits of Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock, chasing a terrified little girl through her backyard in a clear homage to the opening of The Lost World.
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus lived during the late Jurassic period and has appeared in every film in the franchise since The Lost World, where they are the first dinosaurs encountered by Ian Malcom and the main human characters of the story upon their arrival on Isla Sorna. Stegosaurus may be an herbivore, but it also won’t hesitate to defend its young, as Malcom’s girlfriend Dr. Sarah Harding swiftly learns after unintentionally frightening one of the infants of the family. The Stegosaurus is also among the species of dinosaurs set upon the world at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and appears during the end credits of Battle at Big Rock, casually strolling alongside a cliff side highway and causing a shocked motorist to veer off the edge, all of it captured on his mounted cell phone.
Parasaurolophus
Though Parasaurolophus has never been one of the more prominent dinosaurs of the franchise, it has appeared in every film in the series since The Lost World. Living during the late Cretaceous Period, this horned herbivore has never directly killed any humans in the series, but it makes a notable appearance in Jurassic Park III. While Dr. Grant and the other human characters are fleeing a pack of pursuing Velociraptors, they find themselves also dodging the heavy feet of a family of Parasaurolophus after the dinosaurs are suddenly frightened by the fleeing humans. Compared to other dinosaurs seen in the short, Parasaurolophus makes a more innocuous appearance during the end credits of Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock, calmly drinking from a river as a group of fisherman watch in awe.
Mosasaurus
The first aquatic dinosaur to make its debut in the series, Mosasaurus lived during the Cretaceous period, and was among the most heavily marketed new dinosaurs in Jurassic World. Though the land-bound nature of the story did somewhat limit its involvement, it made several flashy appearances leaping out of the water to snatch its prey, and arguably stole the finale Jurassic World, emerging from its underwater home to devour the rampaging Indominus Rex. Mosasaurus would later appear in the opening of Fallen Kingdom, breaking loose from its own captivity after eating some investigating humans, and later preying on a group of surfers during the closing minutes of the movie. The Mosasaurus makes another show-stopping appearance during the end credits of Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock, leaping from the depths of the sea with its jaws agape to feast on a shark that itself had just snatched up a seal.
Pteranodon
Living during the Cretaceous period, the Pteranodon serves as the flying predator of the Jurassic Park franchise, first appearing in the closing scene of The Lost World and later playing a major role in Jurassic Park III. In that film, after discovering they’ve stumbled into a large bird cage, Dr. Alan Grant and his traveling companions find themselves fighting for their lives against a family of carnivorous Pteranodon that occupy the cage. The Pteranodon also plays a major role in Jurassic World, where they are seen terrorizing visitors to the park, and later being among the dinosaurs now living among humans at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Having appeared in every movie in the Jurassic Park series save for the first, the Pteranodon returns during the end credits of Battle at Big Rock, swooping in to snatch a dove freed a split second earlier during a couple’s wedding.
With the abundance of dinosaurs that the film manages to incorporate in under ten minutes, Battle at Big Rock clearly points to Colin Trevorrow and Universal laying their cards on the table for the next film in the series to explore the premise of dinosaurs now co-existing among humans to its fullest potential. Fans of the Jurassic Park franchise will have to wait until the next chapter of the series makes its grand debut in June 2021 to see the full repercussions of the ending of Fallen Kingdom play out, and Trevorrow has also made clear that Jurassic World 3 won’t have dinosaurs terrorizing major cities as audiences might be expecting. In the meantime, however, Jurassic World: Battle at Big Rock gives fans quite an exhilarating sneak peek at what that world shared by dinosaurs and man will look like.
Next: Battle At Big Rock Is The Best Jurassic World Has Ever Been
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