Jurassic World Rebirth features some pretty clever deep cuts to the history of the Jurassic Park franchise and the other films of Steven Spielberg. Directed by Gareth Edwards, Jurassic World Rebirth is in many ways a throwback to the legacy of the series while charting a new future ahead for the series. Jurassic World Rebirth’s characters feel like spiritual successors to many of the franchise’s most memorable heroes and villains, going through plenty of the same kind of dangers remixed by new mutant dinosaurs.
Jurassic World Rebirth’s easter eggs include direct shout-outs to previous films, reimaginings of character beats from previous films, and the realization of scenes that never came to the big screen. The Gareth Edwards movie even includes a few sly references to other movies made by Spielberg. Here are the best deep-cut references to the legacy of Steven Spielberg and Jurassic Park that are hidden across Jurassic World Rebirth.
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The Side Mirror
Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Jurassic World Rebirth features lots of nods to the history of the Jurassic Park franchise, including a number of recreated shots. One of the earliest examples of this comes with Rupert Friend’s pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs as he’s driving in New York City.
At one point, he looks into his rear-view mirror and sees the words “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” on the glass. An iconic shot from Jurassic Park saw Robert Muldoon, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm trying to escape a T-Rex, with the same words appearing on their rear view mirror as it leaned in to attack them.
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Crichton References Are Littered Across Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth References The Jurassic Park Creator In Multiple Ways
While Krebs and Zora Bennett drive around New York City and discuss his job for her, they pass a school bus for “Crichton Middle School.” Michael Crichton was the author of Jurassic Park, which inspired the long-running series in the first place.
This isn’t the only way the new Jurassic World series directly references the creator of the series. Dr. Henry Loomis later quotes specific lines from Jurassic Park, repurposing the dialogue for Loomis’ explanation to Zora (and the audience) why dinosaurs have been dying out around the world.
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The Museum Banner
When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth
One of the most memorable shots from Jurassic Park’s finale is the result of a T-Rex fighting two raptors. While the rest of the film’s survivors escape the park amid the chaos, the triumphant T-Rex roars as a banner reading “When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth” falls in front of it.
That same style of banner can be seen falling in Jurassic World Rebirth, but in a far more somber manner. With funding for dinosaur research and education falling, Loomis’ museum is shown being packed up. This includes one of the same banners, giving the film’s thematic “ending for dinosaurs” a connection to the first film.
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Loomis Was A Student Of Alan Grant
Alan’s Experience With Loomis Establishes Him As A Worth Successor
One of the more overt connections between Jurassic World Rebirth and the earlier movies is Loomis’s direct connection to Alan Grant. Grant has been a recurring fixture of the series, appearing in 3 of the 7 films in the franchise. While he’s not in Jurassic World Rebirth, Grant is confirmed to have been Loomis’s mentor.
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Jurassic World Rebirth’s Connection To Major Character From Spielberg’s Movie Explained
Jurassic World Rebirth introduces new heroes like Dr. Loomis, but finds some clever ways to tie them to the stars of the original Jurassic Park.
This serves as an easy shorthand for the audience to understand and respect Loomis as a genuine expert on dinosaurs, while also giving the new film a concrete connection to the past even as it moves the series in a new direction.
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Jurassic World Rebirth Reimagines The Brachiosaurus Scene
Jurassic World Rebirth Remixes One Of Jurassic Park’s Most Famous Scenes
One of the most memorable moments in Jurassic Park is the discovery of the Brachiosaurus herd, an awe-inspiring moment that uses the now iconic John Williams score to great effect. Jurassic World Rebirth revisits that feeling when Zora, Loomis, and their team encounter the Titanosaurus.
The scene is framed to match the emotional heights of that moment, even playing the original score from that moment. While Alexandre Desplat composed the score for much of the new film, the connection to Jurassic Park is deep enough that it necessitated the music cue.
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T. Rex Vs. Raft Was In The Original Book
One Of The Iconic Scenes From The Jurassic Park Book Finally Comes To The Big Screen
One of the most exciting beats in Jurassic World Rebirth comes when the Delgado family finds themselves trying to escape a T-Rex in an inflatable boat on a river. The scene is a thrilling beat that filmmakers have been trying to get on the big screen for decades.
The scene originated in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, but was cut from the film adaptation. They tried to bring the scene to Jurassic Park: The Lost World, but couldn’t fit it in. Jurassic World Rebirth was able to not only find room for the scene, but also make it one of the biggest sequences focused on the Delgado family.
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Raptor References
Even Though Raptors Aren’t A Major Threat In Jurassic World Rebirth, The Film Recalls Their Iconic Moments
While the raptors aren’t a huge threat in Jurassic World Rebirth compared to their previous appearances, Jurassic World Rebirth does include a few clever references to previous raptor scenes in the series. When two raptors advance on Xavier, one of them assumes a pose that’s framed in a very similar manner to the raptor in Jurassic Park.
While the raptors are pretty effectively replaced by the mutadons in the narrative, these genetically modified dinosaurs do carry on some raptor tendencies. One of them hunts the Delgado family through a gas station, similar to how the raptors hunted Lex and Tim. There’s even a shot where a raptor taps its claws, replicating a shot from Jurassic Park.
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There Are Two Jaws References
The Mission To Get Mosasaurus DNA Turns The Movie Into Jaws
According to an interview Gareth Edwards gave to Vanity Fair, Stephen Spielberg was resistant to including too many references to previous Jurassic films in Jurassic World Rebirth. However, that didn’t stop Edwards and his team from inserting some — as well as a few odes to Spielberg’s other movies, like Jaws.
A pedal can be spotted in the bar where Zora finds and recruits Duncan Kinkaid, which is a replica of the pedal Quint used to brace himself in Jaws. There’s also a shot of Zora trying to shoot the Mosasaurus with a rifle while hanging off the side of the boat, replicating the final moments of Jaws.
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The Temple Was An Ode To Indiana Jones
Jurassic World Rebirth Remixed One Location To Be Reminiscent Of Indiana Jones
Image via Universal Pictures
There’s also a reference to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark tucked away in the middle of Jurassic World Rebirth. When Zora and team track down the Quetzalcoatlus nest, they discover the creature’s eggs are within the ruins of a temple.
The designs of the temple resemble the stone carvings seen in the Indiana Jones films. While other references and easter eggs were cut from the film, Edwards told Vanity Fair he was convinced he would be able to keep the temple because the film’s screenwriter David Koepp loves Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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Scaling The Cliff Had A Familiar Beat To It
The Efforts To Catch The Quetzalcoatlus DNA Recreate One Of Jurassic Park’s Tensest Scenes
To recover the DNA from the Quetzalcoatlus, Zora and her team are forced to scale down the side of a cliff to recover the eggs. This recalls another scene featuring Alan Grant in Jurassic World, replicating another confrontation with a dangerous dinosaur.
In Jurassic Park, Alan is forced to try and avoid a T-Rex while rappelling down the side of a concrete wall, barely dodging the creature repeatedly. This is similar to the tension of Jurassic World Rebirth’s cliff scene, especially once Loomis is hanging over the edge while LeClerc is less lucky.
