Are Jurassic World’s Raptors Finally Accurate in ‘Rebirth’?

The Jurassic Park franchise isn’t exactly an educational resource. Hollywood often runs wild with ideas, especially those of the prehistoric type. We’ve seen velociraptors that communicate with humans and T. Rex with an insatiable thirst for human blood, but what’s next for Jurassic World Rebirth? We can look forward to many hybrid dinosaurs in the first installment of the Rebirth era, but are historically accurate raptors one of them? Here’s what we know so far.

A History of Raptor Variation

Most Jurassic Park fans love velociraptors, which are speedy, highly intelligent, and vicious in the movies. The species was first seen in 1993 during the premiere of Jurassic Park, and was seen in every movie following. In the early films, velociraptors drove up the level of fear, casting the species in a sinister light. They’ve since become a cornerstone for the franchise, playing an even larger role in the Jurassic World era. The introduction of Blue, a female velociraptor, had fans feeling an empathetic connection with the species. The anthropomorphism of velociraptors drove the Jurassic World storyline of dinosaur conservation. It seems Rebirth is returning to its roots with more nightmarish creatures.

The premise of Jurassic World Rebirth is to obtain unique dinosaur DNA that could potentially save lives. However, according to the movie trailer, many dinosaurs are mutations, and others are “too dangerous” to be released. One includes velociraptors, which are seen only once and briefly. The shot shows its sharp, elongated talons as it creeps across the floor—a terrifying callback from Jurassic Park. As Dr. Henry Loomis watches in fear, he calls them “velociraptors,” confirming their appearance in the new movie. We then realize these velociraptors are nothing like Blue and are far more similar to the original film’s raptors.

Which Jurassic Park Movie Had the Most Accurate Raptors?

Jurassic Park III wasn’t the highest-rated movie, but it did have the most historically accurate velociraptors. Most fans agree that these were the most balanced of the bunch. Their behavior is also something to note, as these raptors were portrayed as protective parents, semi-aggressive, and territorial. Their pack nature in the third movie helped substantiate them as a believable species, and likely wasn’t too far from the truth.

One unique feature of Jurassic Park III‘s velociraptors is their bird-like design. Paleontologist Jack Horner discussed this in his work on the Spielberg movies. His input changed several designs, including the velociraptor. Horner’s input inspired feather-like quills, which would have been accurate of a velociraptor given their close relation to birds. Another significant change happened in Jurassic Park when Horner suggested removing the forked tongues of the raptors. In an interview with the LA Times, he said this minor change made the dinosaurs feel more bird-like. This added to the realism of their design, which we see carried through in Jurassic Park III.

In that same interview, Horner also points out what was not accurate. Raptors—and many other dinosaurs—would not have been as vibrantly colored. They were designed this way in the movie to add interest and drama, but brown, black, tan, and gray would have been more historically accurate. The raptor’s roars were also dramatized, as most dinosaurs would have had bird-like screeches.

How Realistic Are Jurassic World Rebirth’s Raptors?

Jurassic World Rebirth hinted at velociraptors returning, but gave away very little. The bigger reveal happened when the movie’s promo art was released. Promo art and party balloons have been released, showing the new design of the velociraptors. These designs are a nostalgic callback to the Jurassic Park dinosaurs, featuring many similar traits. One physical trait that stood out to fans was the addition of quills on the velociraptor’s head. This callback to Jurassic Park III implies the raptors will be more accurate than those in previous movies. Quills loosely allude to the feathers that velociraptors once had, adding a hint of realism to their design.

The new velociraptor’s coloring is yet another callback to the original movies. Instead of the vibrant blue seen in Jurassic World, we see brown, black, and tan, with a hint of blue around the raptor’s eye socket. With no fossil evidence to determine the velociraptor’s coloring, this could be accurate. Horner claims real dinosaurs were likely more “glamorous,” a nod given to us with the raptor’s blue face. The Jurassic World Rebirth trailer also shows the raptors’ claws. These are more accurate to Deinonychus, which partially inspired the velociraptor design in the Jurassic Park movies. This dinosaur had a sickle-like claw used for climbing and hooking into prey. While the trailer portrays this accurately, we don’t yet know the nature of these new velociraptors.

These new velociraptors seem to amalgamate every raptor design in Jurassic Park, amplifying the species’ authenticity. Despite Hollywood’s overdramatizations, each movie had some facets of the velociraptor correct. Jurassic World Rebirth could be the most historically accurate representation, given the restart of the Rebirth era.