Jurassic World: Dominion Extended Edition Malta Visit

To say Jurassic Park is important to my love of film would be an understatement. Being an eight-year-old kid at the Glenwood Theater, seeing what would essentially change the filmmaking landscape is a memory that will be with me till my last breath. Jurassic Park defined the wonder of movie making and is as effective today as in 1993. Truth be told, I’ve enjoyed every entry in the Jurassic franchise, some more than others, but the spirit of adventure and spectacle is something that has yet to fade sixth entries into the Jurassic universe. And the latest, Jurassic World: Dominion extended edition, has just been released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital (OWN IT HERE).

Dominion adds fourteen minutes with the extended edition. The original was no short tale, but these added scenes give a lot of depth to what was in the theatrical version. I traveled to Malta and discussed this new edition with director Colin Trevorrow, stars DeWanda Wise and Bryce Dallas Howard. Talking about the need to trim down a story he loves to meet the studio’s demands, Trevorrow told me,

Unfortunately, when you make choices like that, it tends to be about what can come out without, you know, putting people’s understanding of what’s even going on in jeopardy, especially with a movie with as much entity as ours. And so that’s what we took out. And yet those things are part of what makes a movie feel alive. And it’s part of what makes you feel like you’re being told a story and drawn into a film. And it’s about the transition.

This sums up the new cut quite perfectly. What we get with the extended edition may not be giant set pieces but interactions and world-building that help flesh out and expand on the universe Trevorrow inherited. A few examples are the new prologue that ties into ending a rivalry 65 million years in the making; it establishes Owen and Delacourt’s relationship earlier and the reason for their mutual animosity. We get more scene-stealing DeWanda Wise’s Kayla at the Dino market and more time reconnecting with the original cast. The fourteen extra minutes go a long way to connect the small things, making this the extended edition the definitive version for fans of the movie

Besides exploring the extended edition, a big part of my trip was discovering Dominion’s importance to Malta. I was surprised to learn that Malta never played itself until Jurassic World: Dominion. The raptor chase and Dino market scenes were an integral part of the movie and set off the final act, and Malta getting to be the big set piece was a big deal for the country and its culture. During my trip to discuss the movie, the one thing that kept coming up was this national pride of getting to display their own stamp on the world and doing so in a major summer blockbuster. I sat down with Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech and discussed the country’s history, starting from the Knights of Saint John to its independence from Britain in 1964, and how his fandom of the franchise led him here.

I spent my time as a teenager watching Jurassic Park. And then to see the story develop over the years to where you get to see your country in Jurassic World: Dominion makes us proud. And I’m so keen to see the extended edition of the Director’s Cut.

While in the country, every activity we did was always focused on the country itself. This deepened the experience and my respect for the team putting it together. I did a standup intro in St George’s Square next to the statue of Blue. I filmed a raptor rooftop chase in the Malta Maritime Museum mimicking Claire’s intense escape, explored the city of Valletta, visited the Malta Film Studios, and traversed the Mediterranean Sea. It’s easy to overlook a movie’s importance on its location, yet Malta seems primed for a bigger piece of the global film landscape. As someone who takes movies like The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Adventures in Babysitting for granted, it’s clear to me now how important seeing your hometown, whether it be a city or an entire country, represented as its own.Still, the cultural immersion of Malta was a perspective that I greatly appreciated having and one I won’t soon forget.

Don’t forget to check out all the interviews with Colin Trevorrow, DeWanda Wise, and Bryce Dallas Howard, the fun stunt video we filmed in the Malta Maritime Museum, and the shorts exploring the different areas of Malta. The extended cut of Jurassic World: Dominion is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital and is out now (Get It Here)!

Here’s a list of the bonus features on the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital release of Jurassic World: Dominion:

EXTENDED VERSION – An extended cut of the film with 14 minutes of additional footage featuring more dinosaurs, action, iconic character moments and an alternate opening
BATTLE AT BIG ROCK – Directed by Colin Trevorrow, the short film takes place one year after the events of JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM in Big Rock National Park.
A NEW BREED OF VFX – VFX supervisor David Vickery and the magicians at ILM discuss the incredible visual effects work featured in JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION.
DINOSAURS AMONG US: INSIDE JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION
TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME – Cast and filmmakers discuss the evolution of the franchise and the special union of characters from JURASSIC PARK and JURASSIC WORLD.
UNDERGROUND DINO MARKET – Join filmmakers for a tour of the amazing dino market set and discover how they brought it to life.
MAYHEM IN MALTA – A behind-the-scenes look at the Atrociraptor rooftop chase and Owen’s harrowing motorcycle ride through the narrow streets and alleyways of Malta.
SCARY REAL
SPIT TAKE: THE RETURN OF THE DILOPHOSAURUS – Live-action dinosaurs supervisor John Nolan and his team reveal how they created the impressive Dilophosaurus animatronic.
INSIDE THE DIMETRODON – Learn how the filmmaking team operated the terrifying Dimetrodon animatronic and hear from Laura Dern and Sam Neill on what it was like working with it.
CREATING A PLAGUE – Laura Dern and Bryce Dallas Howard discuss the enormous locusts featured in JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION and the creature effects team reveals how they were created and deployed.
PASSING THE BATA..N- Discover the craftsmanship behind the realistic-looking Beta animatronic and hear from Chris Pratt and Isabella Sermon on why they enjoyed working with it.
GIGA-BITE – Go behind the scenes with the cast of JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION as they are introduced to the biggest star of the film, the Giganotosaurus, for the very first time.
FINAL NIGHT – Witness the emotional final night of filming with the cast and crew of JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION.