Is the T rex in Jurassic World Dominion Rexy

Jurassic World Dominion director Colin Trevorrow recently defended the film's depiction of Rexy.

Responding to a fan on Twitter, Trevorrow addressed complaints that the franchise's most iconic dinosaur came across as weak in the new sequel. "[It's] worth noting the T. Rex had an average lifespan of 28 years, so our Rexy would be near the end of her life in Dominion," he tweeted. "Even at that age, she found the strength to rise up and avenge her own death, 65 million years later. Sometimes revenge takes time."

Trevorrow previously hinted that Jurassic World Dominion would wrap up Rexy's arc, which began in the first Jurassic Park movie and was later continued in Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. "We all have a real love for [Rexy] as if she's a true character," he said at the time. "So it was important for me throughout the course of these movies to take her on a journey and hopefully really make the audience want her to find peace." The director added that the goal he and co-writer Derek Connolly shared for Rexy's arc was for her to find a proper home and a family, after being constantly displaced throughout the franchise.

With the ending of Jurassic World Dominion, Trevorrow and Connolly seemingly achieve this goal, as Rexy is shown living out her remaining days on BioSyn's dinosaur sanctuary alongside two other tyrannosaurs. Rexy's idyllic retirement was hard won, though, as the T. Rex first had to defeat the Giganotosaurus in a grueling battle during the film's climax. Rexy only barely came out on top against the world's largest carnivore, eventually teaming up with another dinosaur, the Therizinosaurus, to overcome her much bigger opponent.

The act of Rexy taking down the Giganotosaurus represents the "revenge" Trevorrow mentions in his tweet, and is connected to events depicted in Jurassic World Dominion's missing prologue. In that sequence, which originally served as the opening for the film before being cut, the Gigantosaurus (or "Giga") kills Rexy 65 million years ago. A mosquito then extracts blood from Rexy's corpse which will ultimately be used to clone her in the present day (as shown in Jurassic Park). Trevorrow previously hinted that the prologue could be reinstated to an extended version of Jurassic World Dominion, something that would arguably make the millennia-spanning rivalry between Rexy and Giga much clearer to audiences.

Source: Twitter

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Jurassic World: Dominion!

Jurassic World: Dominion would not have been complete without the appearance of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, however the dinosaur's role in the film could have been much more meaningful if things played out differently. Across every single film in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise, the filmmakers do their best to exhibit as many unique dinosaurs as possible, but the T-Rex has consistently appeared in all of them. The T-Rex's most recent feature film outing, though, has left something to be desired, especially in the pivotal scene at the end.

In Jurassic World: Dominion, the T-Rex (or "Rexy" as the fan community has been calling her) is captured by the Department of Fish and Wildlife and transported to the Biosyn dinosaur sanctuary located somewhere in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. During the film's climax, the T-Rex fights a Giganotosaurus, a terrifying reptile that is said by Dr. Alan Grant to be the largest known carnivorous dinosaur in the world. Things come to a head, however, when the Giga seemingly kills Rexy during their battle, only for her to get a second wind after a brief moment. She then kills the Giga with some assistance from the long-clawed Therizinosaurus. The T-Rex delivers her famous end-of-movie roar as the main cast escapes the sanctuary, and she lives on to be the undisputed apex predator in her new home.

This sort of scenario is seen in almost every single film in the franchise, with the exception of Jurassic Park 3, where a T-Rex is brutally killed by the Spinosaurus. Regardless, there seems to be some kind of rule in place that seemingly requires the T-Rex to emerge victorious in every fight it engages in, much like the T-Rex fight against the Velociraptors in the first Jurassic Park and the fight with the hybridized Indominus Rex in the first Jurassic World. However, while Rexy's brush with death against the Giga is indeed riveting, it could be argued that the scene could have been much more meaningful if it subverted everyone's expectations in the form of her permanent death in Jurassic World: Dominion.

Why The T-Rex Should Have Stayed Dead In Jurassic World: Dominion

Jurassic World: Dominion is a very important film in the overall franchise. In its trailers, it was stated that it will be the very last entry to a now 6-movie-long story. As a result, it makes many references to the original films out of remembrance of how things started. It even goes so far as bringing back the first Jurassic Park cast, consisting of Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm. The fan-favorite T-Rex (along with the Velociraptor) is essentially the franchise's mascot, and is, in a way, a physical representation of the life of the story. Every time Rexy or some other T-Rex is left alive at the end of a film, it leaves it open for yet another sequel. However, Dominion was said to be the last film. Rather than getting back up after what seemed like a predictable fake-out moment, it would have been highly symbolic for Rexy to finally fall, thus having her death represent the franchise's bittersweet end.

The symbolism in Jurassic World: Dominion does not stop there, though. The Giganotosaurus fight itself could also be some kind of metaphor. Similar to the film's return of familiar faces, Rexy's face is always a welcome one to see in every movie. Rexy possibly represents the older generation of viewers and filmmakers that made the franchise the way it is today. If Rexy really were to die at the hands (or claws) of the Giga, it could be a portrayal of the rise of a new generation, similar to the Jurassic World films taking the place of the original Jurassic Park. Either that, or it could be a way of saying that the series is over and it is time for a new franchise to rise and take its place. While a very interesting idea, unfortunately, it was not one that was meant to be.

Next: Why Jurassic World Dominion Never Mentions Camp Cretaceous