"Jurassic World: Rebirth" Director Gareth Edwards and Producer Frank Marshall Acknowledge "Star Wars" / "Alien" Influence
The new D-Rex dinosaur in the film took inspiration from both the Rancor and Xenomorph creatures.
During the publicity tour for Jurassic World: Rebirth, the new movie’s director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and producer Frank Marshall (Jurassic World) have acknowledged the influence of some famous pre-existing movie monsters on the new mutant dinosaur called the D-Rex.
What’s happening:
- In an interview with Collider published today, director Gareth Edwards and producer Frank Marshall publicly acknowledged that the design of the new dinosaur called the D-Rex (or Distortus Rex) in Jurassic World: Rebirth took some influence from the Rancor in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and the Xenomorph from 20th Century Fox’s Alien franchise.
- Notably, both Return of the Jedi and Alien are currently owned by The Walt Disney Company, after acquisitions of both Lucasfilm and the now-renamed 20th Century Studios over the past decade and a half. The Jurassic franchise, however, is owned and distributed by Universal Pictures.
- “Don’t tell Kathy," joked Marshall during the interview. He is very famously married to Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
What they’re saying:
- Gareth Edwards (via Collider): “I thought it was really an opportunity for Frank to have a cameo in the film, so we scanned Frank's face. The scanner wasn't working properly, and... No, I'm joking. Basically, you took everything in a melting pot. It's really hard to come up with a monster idea. We put in a little bit of the Rancor from Star Wars. Don't tell people who work on Star Wars."
- “Then we put in a little bit of H.R. Geiger's Alien for good measure. There was a little bit of, obviously, the T-Rex. Then, if you imagine we were all dinosaurs for a second, and someone made a movie about humans, they would go, ‘Oh, it's a human.’ That's the end of the conversation. You'd be like, ‘Well, which human? What kind? Like, Clint Eastwood? What is it?’ So, basically, the animators go, ‘Well, who would it be if it was a character?’ I ended up saying, ‘Okay, maybe go rewatch David Lynch's The Elephant Man.’ It's the idea of something that's a little bit suffering, didn't want to be in this situation, and I like that. It's in there, certainly, hopefully, but there's this little bit of empathy you have for it. You wanted to feel slightly sorry for it."
Jurassic World: Rebirth is now playing in theaters everywhere.
More Jurassic News:
- Laughing Place’s own Benjamin Breitbart provides his thoughts on Jurassic World: Rebirth.
- Universal CityWalk Hollywood has an enormous new display promoting the movie outside its AMC theater.
- Similarly, Universal Studios Hollywood has a very cool Spinosaurus photo op on its Lower Lot.
Laughing Place recommends Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for the best film, food, and drink - all in one seat.