Jurassic World: Dominion‘s bringing back the Jurassic Park cast isn’t its only link to the franchise’s past.
As to be expected, the new movie has plenty of Easter eggs and nods to Steven Spielberg’s classic 1993 movie, even if writer-director Colin Trevorrow was keen to not overstuff Dominion with references.
“I was constantly fighting against myself. As a fan, you’re going to see opportunities everywhere, so to pull it back enough that when it does happen, it’s something that is pretty subtle,” he told Digital Spy.
“It’s sometimes in the background or it’s a quick little moment. Fans will recognize it right away, but there’s a sense of discovery about it, not like laying it out on a platter like, ‘Here’s your childhood’.”
One such reference will definitely have been spotted by fans as it also solves a long-running Jurassic Park mystery. To explain just how it does, we need to go into some spoilers though, so look away now if you haven’t seen the new movie yet.
Universal
As well as bringing back the OG trio of Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, Dominion sees the return of a minor Jurassic Park character who got one whole scene in the first movie: Lewis Dodgson.
Originally played by Cameron Thor and recast with Campbell Scott, Dodgson was the dodgy bloke who offered Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) $1.5 million to steal some dinosaur embryos from InGen. Nedry managed to sneak out some embryos in the modified Barbasol shaving cream can that Dodgson gave him, but never made it back to Dodgson for his payment as he crashed on his way to the dock before being killed by a dilophosaurus.
The can fell from Nedry’s grasp and was covered in mud, seemingly never to be found – or so we thought.
In Dominion it’s revealed that somehow Dodgson got his hands on the Barbasol can in the end, and it holds pride of place in his office alongside other mementos like a dino claw. Dodgson is now the CEO of BioSyn, who he was likely working for in Jurassic Park, although the movie never made it clear beyond the fact he was working for a rival to InGen.
Even though Dodgson got his hands on the Barbasol can, we doubt it was of any use in terms of creating dinosaurs. In Jurassic Park, he tells Nedry that the embryos need to be delivered in 36 hours otherwise they’re useless.
Universal
Dominion doesn’t give any backstory to how the can made its way to Dodgson and it is possible he retrieved it in time. However, we feel that’s unlikely given the state that Jurassic Park was left in and the chances of finding it in the mud.
The movie actually wasn’t the last time we saw the Barbasol can in the Jurassic universe as it popped up in Jurassic Park: The Game.
In the game, two BioSyn employees – Nima Cruz and Miles Chadwick – were waiting for Nedry at the dock and decided to investigate when he didn’t show up. They found his Jeep, worked out he’s probably dead and managed to find the can.
It doesn’t end particularly well for them either. Miles was killed by a dilophosaurus almost straight away and Nima ended the game in a precarious position, hanging from a skywalk with a T-Rex waiting to chow down.
The player is left to decide Nima’s fate: if she goes for the can, she’s eaten by the T-Rex, but if she saves a fellow person in danger, the can is crushed by the T-Rex after Nima escapes. Given the fact there’s not a definitive ending, it’s unclear if this game is actually fully canon within the Jurassic universe.
Canonically, it could be that the first choice is the one that happened, meaning the can was still there in Jurassic Park for Dodgson to find. We might even see that play out in the final season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous as the trailer has revealed the Barbasol can makes an appearance.
Netflix
The final season is definitely set after the events of Fallen Kingdom, but likely takes place before Dominion. It could show how the can went from the park to BioSyn Valley if the kids in the show get mixed up with BioSyn.
However it happened, it looks like by the time Dodgson and BioSyn finally got their hands on it, it was probably useless as a bit of corporate espionage. Dodgson potentially keeps it around as a symbol of how far he’s come, although it’s clearly valuable to him as he takes it with him as he tries to flee BioSyn Valley.
Maybe he did it as the embryos (somehow) still survive within, but we think Dodgson is just a sentimental softie. Doesn’t really matter anyway as he soon goes the way of Nedry and the can is left behind in BioSyn Valley, likely never to be found again.
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