Rexy | |
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Jurassic Park character | |
First appearance | Jurassic Park (book; 1990) Jurassic Park (film; 1993) |
Last appearance | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
Created by | Michael Crichton Steven Spielberg |
Designed by | Stan Winston (animatronic) Steve Williams (CGI) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Tyrannosaurus rex |
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Rexy is the colloquial nickname for a fictional Tyrannosaurus that appears throughout the Jurassic Park franchise. It first appeared in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park , and made it onscreen debut in the 1993 film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg. It returns in the 2015 film Jurassic World and its sequels, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
For the original film, special-effects artist Stan Winston created an animatronic T. rex measuring 20 feet high and 40 feet long, while Steve Williams of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) created a CGI version for a majority of the scenes. Colin Trevorrow served as the primary writer and director of the Jurassic World trilogy. Although other T. rexes appeared in the preceding Jurassic Park sequels, Trevorrow sought to bring back the same individual from the first film. ILM again worked on the animal for each of the Jurassic World films. Effects artist Neal Scanlan also created an animatronic for Fallen Kingdom.
The films do not specify a name for the animal. "Rexy" came into common usage among fans after the release of Jurassic World, although the name had also been used previously in Crichton's novel. It has since been used in other licensed media. The name "Roberta" was also used by visual-effects artist Phil Tippett in his storyboards for the original film.
In the Jurassic Park novel and its film adaptation, the Tyrannosaurus is among many genetically engineered dinosaurs on the fictional Isla Nublar, the site of a planned theme park and zoo. It eventually escapes its enclosure and goes on to terrorize characters throughout the story. In the film version, it also kills Donald Gennaro. At the film's end, Velociraptors corner Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Lex and Tim. However, the Tyrannosaurus unexpectedly arrives and battles the raptors, inadvertently saving the humans.
In Jurassic World , the island is home to a dinosaur theme park that has operated for years, with the Tyrannosaurus as a prime attraction. The animal has a reduced role compared with the original film, appearing primarily at the end to battle the escaped Indominus rex ; it succeeds with help from a Mosasaurus and a Velociraptor named Blue. Isla Nublar is abandoned by the end of the film, leaving the Tyrannosaurus and other dinosaurs to reclaim the island as their own, once again.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is a television series set during and after the events of Jurassic World. The same Tyrannosaurus appears several times in the series, terrorizing a group of teenaged campers who were left stranded on Isla Nublar.
The Tyrannosaurus makes several appearances throughout Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom , which sees the dinosaurs being relocated to California for a black market auction, before eventually killing Eli Mills and escaping into the wilderness.
In Jurassic World Dominion , the Tyrannosaurus has been pursued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for years before being captured and sent to live at Biosyn's sanctuary in the Dolomites. There, it battles a Giganotosaurus for superiority, eventually killing the latter. [1] A deleted scene takes place during the Cretaceous and shows the same animals in battle during that time period, though with the Giganotosaurus prevailing; a mosquito then lands on the deceased Tyrannosaurus and sucks its blood, which would eventually be used to clone the animal in the present day. The scene is included in the film's extended edition and as part of a five-minute prologue. [2] [3]
Special-effects artist Stan Winston worked on the dinosaurs for the first film. His team created an animatronic T. rex that stood 20 feet (6.1 m), weighed 17,500 pounds (7,900 kg), and was 40 feet (12 m) long. [5] At the time, it was the largest sculpture ever made by Stan Winston Studio. [6] The studio building had to be modified for the construction of the animatronic. [7] Jack Horner, the film's paleontological consultant, called the animatronic "the closest I've ever been to a live dinosaur". [5] The animatronic was used in a scene set during a storm, depicting the T. rex as it breaks free from its enclosure. Shooting the scene was difficult because the foam rubber skin of the animatronic would absorb water, causing the dinosaur to shake from the extra weight. In between takes, Winston's team had to dry off the dinosaur in order to proceed with filming. [7] [8] Winston's team initially created a miniature sculpture of the T. rex, serving as a reference for the construction of the full-sized animatronic. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) also scanned the miniature sculpture to create CGI shots of the animal. [9] The T. rex roar was created by combining the sounds of a baby elephant, a tiger, and an alligator. [10] [11] [12]
In the first film, the T. rex was originally supposed to be killed off. Halfway through filming, director Steven Spielberg realized that the T. rex was the star of the film and decided to have the script changed just before shooting the death scene. The changes resulted in the final ending, in which the T. rex inadvertently saves the human characters by killing a pack of velociraptors. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Spielberg had the ending changed out of fear that the original ending, without the T. rex, would disappoint audiences. [18]
Although preceding Jurassic Park sequels had featured other T. rexes, Colin Trevorrow sought to bring back the same individual from the first film. [2] [19] Trevorrow, primary writer and director for the trilogy, said about the T. rex's return, "We took the original design and obviously, technology has changed. So, it's going to move a little bit differently, but it'll move differently because it's older. And we're giving her some scars and we're tightening her skin. So, she has that feeling of, like, an older Burt Lancaster". [20] [21] Motion capture was used to portray the T. rex, [22] and a full-scale foot was created for lighting reference and to help with framing shots. [23]
For its appearance in Fallen Kingdom, ILM sent Neal Scanlan the T. rex model previously used for Jurassic World. Using the model, Scanlan created a full-scale 3D print of the T. rex head and shoulders. [24] The life-size T. rex animatronic, which had the ability to breathe and move its head, was controlled with joysticks. [25] It was used for a scene where the sedated T. rex is inside a cage, while Owen Grady and Claire Dearing attempt to retrieve blood from her for a transfusion to help Blue. The beginning shots of the scene were created using only the animatronic, while the ending shots solely used CGI. The middle portion of the scene used a combination of the two methods. [26] [24] [27] Trevorrow said about the dinosaur, "We've been following this same character since the beginning; she's the same T. rex that was in Jurassic Park and in Jurassic World. She is iconic—not just because she's a T. rex, but because she's this T. rex". [24]
Speaking about Dominion, Trevorrow described the Cretaceous fight as an origin story for the T. rex "in the way we might get to do in a superhero film. The T-Rex is a superhero for me". [28] Regarding its death to the Giganotosaurus, Trevorrow called it "such a horrifying loss for all of us who grew up with the T. rex. To build this into something that feels like a revenge picture that takes place over 65 million years was one of my favorite ideas that we had". [29] At the end of Dominion, the T. rex encounters two other tyrannosaurs, which Trevorrow confirmed as the same duo featured in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). [30] Trevorrow said he wanted to "really make the audience want her to find peace. We want her to find a home. She feels like she has been constantly displaced, time and time again. For her to find a family and sense of belonging is what I want". [31]
For Dominion, Trevorrow wanted to reuse the animatronic T. rex from Fallen Kingdom. However, it had already deteriorated, as is common for animatronics. [32] Instead, the animal was portrayed entirely through CGI. [33] Previous Jurassic World films depicted the T. rex with an emaciated physical appearance compared with the first Jurassic Park. Trevorrow sought to restore her original design for Dominion. ILM located Softimage 3D files of the original T. rex model from 1992 and compared it with their modern high-resolution model, as well as images of Winston's original maquette. [34] [35] Changes were made to the animal's jaw, eyes, and brow ridges. David Vickery of ILM said, "The idea was literally to restore her to her former glory," stating further that fans reacted positively to the changes: "They're like, [gasps] 'Hang on, they've changed T. rex. She looks amazing!'" [34]
A scene in the first film depicts the T. rex chasing a Jeep. [10] [36] Animator Steve Williams said he decided to "throw physics out the window and create a T. rex that moved at sixty miles per hour even though its hollow bones would have busted if it ran that fast". [37] In the film, it is stated that the T. rex has been recorded running as fast as 32 miles per hour, [38] although scientists believe that its actual top speed would have ranged from 12 to 25 miles per hour. [38] [39] [40] In the novel and its film adaptation, it is stated that the T. rex has vision based on movement, but later studies indicate that the dinosaur had binocular vision, like a bird of prey. [39] [41]
The physical appearance of the T. rex in the Jurassic World films is contrary to new discoveries about the dinosaur. For consistency, the films have continued to depict the dinosaur with its wrists pointing downward at an unnatural angle, whereas the real animal had its wrists facing sideways toward each other. [42] The Jurassic World Dominion prologue features the animal lightly covered in protofeathers. [28] [43]
Two tyrannosaurs are featured in Crichton's novel: a juvenile and an adult. Robert Muldoon, the theme park's game warden, refers to the adult on several occasions as "Rexy". [44] Visual-effects artist Phil Tippett had worked on the original film, and his storyboards referred to the T. rex as "Roberta". The films themselves do not specify a name for the animal. Following the release of Jurassic World, fans began referring to the individual as "Rexy". [45] [46] The name was later used in the 2018 novel The Evolution of Claire , [47] and is also used by Sammy, a character in Camp Cretaceous.
Writing for Screen Rant in 2017, Tom Chapman ranked the franchise's T. rexes, including "Rexy", among its greatest characters. [48] In 2020, Rafarl Sarmiento from Screen Rant listed the T. rex as the best dinosaur in the franchise: "The T-Rex is both awe-inspiring and horrific, but at the end of the day, it's just an animal (that actually existed) fulfilling its instinct. Yet it carries an aura of grand showmanship, something that really represents the spectacle that Jurassic Park could offer." [49] In response to fan criticism about the T. rex being portrayed as weak in battles, Trevorrow noted that this individual would be near the end of its life during the Jurassic World films. [50]
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen, and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. The film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific Coast near Costa Rica, where a wealthy businessman John Hammond (Attenborough), and a team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs. When industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic shutdown of the park's power facilities and security precautions, a small group of visitors, including Hammond's grandchildren, struggle to survive and escape the now perilous island.
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor. It is the third installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the final film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, following The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). It is also the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as the first not to be based on a novel by Michael Crichton; however, the film features characters and ideas by Crichton. Sam Neill and Laura Dern reprise their roles from the first film. New cast members include William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, and Michael Jeter. The plot follows a divorced couple who deceive paleontologist Alan Grant into helping them find their son, who has gone missing on Isla Sorna.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 American science fiction action film. It is the second installment in the Jurassic Park franchise and the second film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy. A sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park and loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1995 novel The Lost World, the film was directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp. Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough reprise their roles from the original film with Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, and Arliss Howard joining the cast.
Jurassic World is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the Jurassic World series and the fourth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series, following Jurassic Park III (2001). The film stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, and Irrfan Khan. Wong reprised his role from the original Jurassic Park film. Set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World takes place on the same fictional island of Isla Nublar, located off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. A successful theme park of cloned dinosaurs, dubbed Jurassic World, has operated on the island for years, bringing John Hammond's dream to fruition. The park plunges into chaos when a transgenic dinosaur escapes from its enclosure and goes on a rampage, while a conspiracy orchestrated by the park's staff creates more dangers.
Jurassic Park, later also referred to as Jurassic World, is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment bought the rights to Crichton's novel Jurassic Park before it was published. The book was successful, as was Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation. The film received a theatrical 3D re-release in 2013, and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Crichton's 1995 sequel novel, The Lost World, was followed by a 1997 film adaptation, also directed by Spielberg. Crichton did not write any further sequels in the series, although Spielberg would return as executive producer for each subsequent film, starting with Jurassic Park III (2001).
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction action film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. The sequel to Jurassic World (2015), it is the second installment in the Jurassic World series and the fifth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles from previous films in the series, with Toby Jones, Ted Levine, and Rafe Spall joining the cast. The story follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they return to the fictional Central American island of Isla Nublar to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from an impending volcanic eruption, only to discover a mercenary team's ulterior motives to bring them to the US mainland.
Jurassic World Dominion is a 2022 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael from a story by Derek Connolly and Trevorrow. The sequel to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), it is the third installment in the Jurassic World series and the sixth installment overall in the Jurassic Park film series, concluding the storyline that began with Jurassic Park (1993). Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Isabella Sermon, and Omar Sy reprise their roles from the previous films, along with Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill, who appear together for the first time since the original Jurassic Park.
Production of the 2015 film Jurassic World was stalled for years in development hell while the film's storyline underwent numerous revisions. Development of the film, known then as Jurassic Park IV, began in 2001. William Monahan was announced as screenwriter in 2002, and the film was scheduled for a 2005 release. When Monahan left to work on another project, he was replaced in 2004 by John Sayles. By 2005, the start of production had stalled, as executive producer Steven Spielberg was not satisfied with any of the script drafts. In 2006, Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston was set to direct the film, which was subsequently expected for release in 2008. By 2010, filming had yet to begin. Johnston and Spielberg intended to work on the film following the completion of their own respective film projects. Writer Mark Protosevich was hired in 2011, although two story treatments by him were rejected.
Battle at Big Rock is a 2019 American short film directed by Colin Trevorrow. It is part of the Jurassic Park franchise and follows the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). It stars André Holland, Natalie Martinez, Melody Hurd, and Pierson Salvador. The short premiered on FX on September 15, 2019 and was subsequently released online.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is an American science fiction action-adventure animated television series developed by Zack Stentz for Netflix and is the first television series in the Jurassic Park franchise, set before, during, and after the events of the film Jurassic World (2015). Aaron Hammersley and Scott Kreamer serve as showrunners and executive produce the series along with Lane Lueras, Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, and Frank Marshall. The main cast features the voices of Paul-Mikél Williams, Sean Giambrone, Kausar Mohammed, Jenna Ortega, Ryan Potter, and Raini Rodriguez as a group of teenage campers who become stranded on Isla Nublar after multiple dinosaurs escape their habitats.
Lego Jurassic World is a Lego theme based on the Jurassic World media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It is licensed from Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The theme was introduced in June 2015, with the release of toy sets and the video game Lego Jurassic World, both to promote the film Jurassic World. Subsequent sets were released in 2018, alongside the next film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Various animated projects have also been made, including the 2018 television special Lego Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit, and the 2019 miniseries Lego Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar.
Jurassic Park, later also referred to as Jurassic World, is an American science fiction adventure media franchise. It focuses on the cloning of dinosaurs through ancient DNA, extracted from mosquitoes that have been fossilized in amber. The franchise explores the ethics of cloning and genetic engineering, and the morals behind de-extinction.
A five-minute prologue to the 2022 film Jurassic World Dominion was released in 2021, initially as an IMAX-exclusive preview and later as an online short film. It is the second live-action short film in the Jurassic Park franchise, following Battle at Big Rock (2019). The prologue includes a prehistoric segment set during the Cretaceous, depicting various dinosaurs in their natural habitats. The sequence was shot on the island of Socotra, part of Yemen. The prologue also includes a modern-day sequence – filmed in England and set in California – in which a Tyrannosaurus rex terrorizes a drive-in theater while evading capture.
Jurassic World Dominion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score album to the 2022 film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. The sixth film in the Jurassic Park franchise, it is also the sequel to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and the final film in the Jurassic World trilogy, while also serving as a conclusion to the storyline started in the original Jurassic Park trilogy. It is directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the script with Emily Carmichael and story with Derek Connolly, and produced by Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, who also produced the predecessors, with Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park (1993), served as the executive producer.
Dr. Henry Wu is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is introduced in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, which began the franchise. He also appears briefly in the novel's 1993 film adaptation and plays a larger role in the Jurassic World film trilogy. Dr. Wu is the lead geneticist for the dinosaur theme parks Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, overseeing the de-extinction of dinosaurs through genetic engineering. He is killed by a Velociraptor in the book, but survives throughout the film series, in which he is portrayed by actor BD Wong. Although Wu is a supporting character in the novel, he has a drastically reduced role in the film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg. Wong and Wu are both Asian-American, and the actor believed that the role was reduced, to his disappointment, because of "racial exclusion in Hollywood".
Claire Dearing is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. She is introduced in the fourth film Jurassic World (2015), which is also the first installment in the Jurassic World trilogy. Colin Trevorrow directed and co-wrote the film, casting Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire. She is one of the three main protagonists in the Jurassic World trilogy, along with her love interest Owen Grady, portrayed by Chris Pratt, and her adoptive daughter, Maisie Lockwood, who made her debut in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. In the first film, she is the operations manager of Jurassic World, a dinosaur theme park located on Isla Nublar.
Owen Grady is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. He is introduced in the fourth film Jurassic World (2015), which is also the first installment in the Jurassic World trilogy. Colin Trevorrow directed and co-wrote the film, casting Chris Pratt as Owen. He is one of the three main protagonists in the trilogy, along with his love interest Claire Dearing, and his adoptive daughter, Maisie Lockwood, who made her debut in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Owen is a U.S. Navy veteran and animal behavioral scientist researching Velociraptor at the dinosaur theme park Jurassic World, located on Isla Nublar. By the end of the first film, he and Claire begin a relationship.
Maisie Lockwood is a fictional character in the Jurassic Park franchise. She is introduced in the fifth film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), which is also the second installment in the Jurassic World trilogy. J. A. Bayona directed the film, casting Isabella Sermon as Maisie. She is one of the three main protagonists in the Jurassic World trilogy, along with her adoptive parents, Owen Grady and Claire Dearing. She used to live with her late grandfather Sir Benjamin Lockwood, an old business partner of Dr. John Hammond. She is the biogenetic daughter of geneticist Charlotte Lockwood.
Velociraptor was popularized by its appearance in the Jurassic Park franchise, which features numerous individuals. They first appear in Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park, followed by a 1993 film adaptation from director Steven Spielberg, which spawned a series of films. Despite their name, Crichton heavily based the Velociraptors on the larger Deinonychus, and this was carried over into the films. The on-screen raptors were created using several production methods, including animatronics by Stan Winston and CGI by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).