Jurassic World: Dominion still filming amid rumors of positive COVID tests

Jurassic World: Dominion became the first major film to resume production earlier this week after Hollywood (and the rest of the world) shut down in April amid the coronavirus pandemic. And yet, in just its first week of production, rumors began to swirl that the film, currently filming in the United Kingdom, has already been shut down due to multiple reports of positive COVID-19 tests according to various British press outlets.

Universal Pictures has since told Deadline that such rumors are false, however, noting “Any reports indicating that Jurassic World: Dominion has halted production are categorically untrue.” Deadline also reports that production was spending five million dollars on precautions against its cast or crew contracting the virus that has ground the global economy to a halt.

Filming on the third film of the Jurrasic World franchise was only four weeks into a planned twenty-week shoot when the film halted production. Headlined by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, along with returning original series Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, the film was originally set for a June 2021 release date. It’s possible word of the positive tests could be in regards to arriving cast or crew members who were tested before they were allowed to interact with the rest of production.

As the first major Hollywood production to resume filming, Jurrasic World: Dominion is obviously under intense scrutiny as the United Kingdom and other countries continue to grapple with the pandemic, which is showing signs of a resurgence, or even eclipsing its early spring numbers in some areas. Whether or not its safety precautions prove to be sufficient will be something the rest of Hollywood watches closely as they also begin to resume production on their own projects. Hopefully they can contain the virus better than those pesky dinosaurs.

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