We’ve reached the seventh film in the Jurassic Park/World franchise, so we’re living in a world of inevitably abundant fan service. In the latest movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, there are a few small moments that keen-eyed fans will spot that are references to either Steven Spielberg’s original film or author Michael Crichton’s books, the real roots of the franchise.
But the best of these pays homage to the original Jurassic Park finale and iconic banner moment.
What’s that banner in Jurassic World Rebirth?
In the final moments of Spielberg’s 1993 classic Jurassic Park, when the mighty T-rex saves our heroes from that door-opening pair of velociraptors in the park lobby, the bipedal carnivore issues a resounding roar as a “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” exhibition banner floats to the ground.
It’s an all-time Hollywood moment, one referenced in Jurassic World Rebirth in the scene when we meet Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) in the Museum of Natural History. While Loomis speaks to Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) about the film’s core mission, an identical banner floats to the ground behind the T-rex skull.
The thing is, that banner is now as superfluous as Loomis’ department, with dinosaurs having roamed the Earth again for the last three decades. They’re old news, holding up traffic in Manhattan. And speaking of…
There’s another early Easter egg in Jurassic World Rebirth
In an early Jurassic World Rebirth scene when dubious rich guy Krebs is held up in traffic by a large, long-necked dinosaur in Manhattan — ugh, what a prehistoric inconvenience — he passes a school bus in his car. On the side of the vehicle, you can see the words “Crichton Middle School,” a reference to Michael Crichton, the author of the Jurassic Park books.
How many Easter eggs did you spot in Jurassic World Rebirth? Keep your eyes peeled.
Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters from July 2.
