While movie productions in Ireland are pretty common nowadays, it's rare that one as notable as this slips under our radar.
A short movie, directed by Colin Trevorrow, was shot in Ireland - Birr, Co. Offaly, in fact - and nobody knew about it until now. 'Battle At Big Rock' acts as a inter-sequel between 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' and the upcoming 'Jurassic World 3', due for release in 2021.
Speaking to Collider, Trevorrow explained that the short was done in complete secret, and that this even extended to the cast themselves. "We didn’t audition or put out a casting call, I just reached out quietly to those two actors (Natalie Martinez and Andre Holland) and begged them to come do this with me," Trevorrow explained. The shoot apparently took place last winter, with the redwoods in Powerscourt doubling for the redwoods of Northern California.
"I honestly never thought we’d make it this far without getting found out. The Irish can keep a secret," said Trevorrow. As you'd expect with a short movie, it isn't going to be a huge spectacle event, but more closer to something like a mood piece than anything else. In fact, Trevorrow said that it felt to him like they were making an indie movie. "No one’s ever shot a 'Jurassic' movie in Ireland, the crew was fired up. The cast was fully committed to making 8 minutes that could stand alongside the movies... It felt like an indie film, but with a massive animatronic."
The short is set to air on FX directly after an airing of 'Jurassic World' this Sunday, and will then be available online right after so we probably won't see it until Monday morning.
