‘Jurassic World Dominion’ marks a major automotive U-turn
Keen-eyed viewers of Jurassic World Dominion will notice the film has returned to its Jeep roots, with one car in particular taking a starring role.
While most cinema-goers with tickets to Jurassic World Dominion are likely to be preoccupied by the onslaught of CGI dinosaurs, the keen-eyed car enthusiasts in the audience might notice a major overhaul to the hit movie’s car brand of choice.
After 25 years as Mercedes-Benz loyalists, the cast of the Jurassic franchise have returned to their roots, with Jeep the carmaker of choice in the latest film.
It’s not the first time a Jeep has traversed the T-Rex-laden landscapes of the world’s most ill-fated theme park, but it’s certainly been a while between drinks.
When the first Jurassic Park film hit screens in 1993, Richard Attenborough, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum outran Velociraptors in a fleet of Ford Explorers and Jeep Wranglers.
The Explorers in particular became instantly iconic with their bright green, yellow and red Jurassic Park-branded livery – not to mention their dramatic demise.
The Jeep Wranglers, meanwhile, were modified versions of the 1992 Wrangler YJ Sahara, with a beige and red paint combination that’s spawned several how-to copycat guides for those who want to mimic the look.
As a nod to diehard fans, the model also made a brief reappearance in 2015’s Jurassic World.
In the subsequent 1997 sequel, The Lost World, several American off-roaders remained – including a handful of Hummers, some Pontiacs and a few Chevys – but the go-to dinosaur-dodger became the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class.
In fact, the ML320 actually made its global debut on the Isla Nublar, with Mercedes providing the filmmakers with a pre-production version dressed in full camouflage.
Legend has it that part of the German marque’s deal with the franchise included star Jeff Goldblum receiving a free ML320, which he then proceeded to use as a daily driver for the better part of a decade.
The Lost World also featured several Mercedes-Benz Unimog vehicles – heavy-duty utility trucks that also appeared in later films as mobile veterinary units.
The third film in the original franchise – simply titled Jurassic Park III – saw a brief return to American carmakers, with Cadillac, Chevrolet and Ford once again taking centre stage.
When the new-generation Jurassic World trilogy kicked off in 2015, several of the original cast members returned for cameos, but the original cars did not.
Gone were the iconic American off-roaders and muscle cars, replaced by a fleet of slick, strictly Mercedes-Benz-branded SUVs.
The film’s female lead, Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), cruised around the modern-day theme park in a GLE Coupe, a tie-in with the car’s official global debut.
Once again, a pre-launch car was supplied for filming, resulting in strict security measures on set to prevent photographers from leaking spy shots of the new model.
Meanwhile, the park’s security team opted for a G63 AMG 6×6, and regular G-Wagens and Sprinter vans also featured.
Although the Jurassic franchise had never been averse to a little product placement, the emphasis on Mercedes-Benz cars in Jurassic World was so unabashed it attracted criticism.
“There are so many plugs for Mercedes that you may wonder if the targeted viewers are studio executives,” New York Times journalist Manohla Dargis wrote in her review.
Nevertheless, the Mercedes partnership persisted for the second Jurassic World film, Fallen Kingdom, albeit in a watered-down capacity.
Importantly, the final scene in Fallen Kingdom showed hero Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt, driving along the highway with Claire and Maisie in a Jeep Grand Wagoneer – a possible foreshadowing of what was to come.
Flash forward to 2022 and it appears the franchise has traded German SUVs for a return to its roots – partnering with Jeep for the Jurassic World Dominion release.
As such, the film’s hero car is Owen’s 1989 Grand Wagoneer, joined on screen by two of the brand’s newer models, the Gladiator ute and Wrangler SUV.
The Gladiator also generated plenty of pre-release buzz, with fan sightings of a Biosyn Genetics-branded stunt car teasing the franchise’s return to Jeep vehicles.
The placement is also linked to a new ‘Jeep x Jurassic’ campaign, which includes two dinosaur-laden ads for the new Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids.
“Almost 30 years ago, moviegoers saw Dr Ian Malcolm escape danger from dinosaurs in the original ‘Jurassic Park’ film while riding in the back seat of a 1992 Jeep Wrangler,” Olivier Francois, global chief marketing officer at Stellantis, said in a statement.
“Here we are now in 2022, and we continue to see the evolution of the Jeep brand around the world with electric plug-ins, including the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe, which are quite literally charged for any adventure, this time with a four-legged passenger of a different kind riding along in the front seat.”
Whether or not the latest round of Jeep vehicles actually survive their starring roles remains to be seen – after all, we’re not in the business of handing out movie spoilers.
Jurassic World Dominion is in Australian cinemas now.
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