As expected with the franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth is filled to the brim with dinosaurs, all of which fluctuate between attempted scientific accuracy and plain fiction.
But one of the cheekiest dinosaurs of the Jurassic series makes a fleeting cameo in director Gareth Edwards’ new film, causing fans to remember what happened to poor ol’ Dennis Nedry in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 original.
Dilophosaurus, the careful predator with its phenomenal frilled neckwear and dastardly little chirps and “whee” calls, turns up in Jurassic World Rebirth on Ile Saint-Hubert, the InGen facility used to develop dinosaurs for the original park.
You might remember Dilophosaurus from such iconic Hollywood moments as the demise of crooked computer programmer Nedry (Wayne Knight) in the original film, Jurassic Park. Foolishly attempting to flee the park on Isla Nublar with stolen dinosaur embryos on a tempestuous night, Nedry is stalked by Dilophosaurus into his Jeep and then eaten for dinner.
Dilophosaurus hasn’t made many appearances in the Jurassic franchise since, and never quite scientifically accurately. It shows up as a hologram in Jurassic World and a statue in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. There’s one frankly disrespectful scene in Jurassic World Dominion in which Dilophosaurus stalks Bryce Dallas Howard’s character Claire Dearing, but is then unceremoniously choked by Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady and tasered by DeWanda Wise’s Kayla Watts. The level of derision, of diabolical mockery in this scene! It must be undone.
Luckily, in the new film, Dilophosaurus gets the respect it deserves, albeit fleetingly. Teresa (Luna Blaise) encounters Dilophosaurus snacking on a dead Parasaurolophus beside the emergency raft shelter she’s trying to raid. And while the threat of Dilophosaurus is quickly upstaged by another, bigger carnivore, at least this time, this clever dino gets both a snack and a movie cameo.