Universal Reveals $5 Million Safety Plan to Resume ‘Jurassic World’ Filming — Report

Zack Sharf
·3 min read

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Cameras are set to resume rolling on “Jurassic World: Dominion” on July 6 at London’s Pinewood Studios, which will make the dinosaur adventure the first major Hollywood tentpole back in production in the United Kingdom following the industry-wide shutdown over the coronavirus. According to Deadline, Universal Pictures is spending around $5 million to beef up safety protocols in and around Pinewood Studios. The “Jurassic World” production is expected to administer thousands of Covid-19 tests to the cast and crew during the remainder of the production. “Jurassic World” will return to filming ahead of other UK-based Hollywood productions such as Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3.”

Deadline reports that all “Jurassic World” cast and crew will be “tested before returning to set and then again multiple times during filming.” Actors such as leading stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will have to be quarantined in London for two weeks after they return to the country from the United States. Cast and crew members flying from the U.S. to London will be tested prior to their travels.

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“Anyone with symptoms will be isolated immediately before being sent home,” a Universal production executive told Deadline. “We want to make sure that we are going above and beyond the national protocols to create a safe environment. Cost isn’t our main concern now: it’s safety. We will take direction from our medical team, but we’re confident that with the staggered scheduling and zones of talent and crew, along with a system of contact tracing, we can move forward with limited delay in production.”

A private medical facility called Your Doctor is being assembled at Pinewood Studios “to manage the entire production’s medical needs.” The new safety protocols include: “Covid training for all cast and crew, on-site doctors, nurses, and isolation booths, 150 hand sanitizer stations, nightly anti-viral ‘fogs,’ more than 1,800 safety signs put up around Pinewood, and ‘Green Zones’ for shooting cast and crew.” The “Green Zone” will also act as a gateway to the production, as the area “will be policed to stop any untested crew from coming in as a further measure to prevent any spread of Covid-19.”

“Jurassic World: Dominion” is the third entry in Universal’s “Jurassic World” franchise led by Pratt and Howard. Colin Trevorrow is directing the tentpole, which suspended production on March 13. Original “Jurassic Park” actors Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are also starring in “Dominion,” which also stars recurring “Jurassic World” actors Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda. Universal Pictures has “Dominion” scheduled for release on June 11, 2021.

IndieWire has reached out to Universal for comment.

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