Jurassic World: Top 10 facts about the dinosaur summer blockbuster

The sequel takes place 22 years after the events of the first Jurassic Park film. Here's all you need to know about the hotly anticipated movie from Universal.

1. A dinosaur safari park, Jurassic World, has been built out of the ruins of the original Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. The official plot summary for the film reads as follows:

"22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. This new park is owned by the Patel Corporation. Owen, a member of Jurassic World's on-site staff, conducts behavioural research on the Velociraptors. After many years, Jurassic World's attendance rates begin to decline and a new attraction, created to re-spark visitor interest, gravely backfires."

2. The main attraction is a new dinosaur called Indominus Rex. "She's a highly intelligent animal. She'll kill anything that moves."

According to the Jurassic World website: "We set out to make Indominus the most fearsome dinosaur ever to be displayed at Jurassic World. The genetic engineers at our Hammond Creation Lab have more than delivered.

"At first glance, Indominus most closely resembles a T. Rex. But its distinctive head ornamentation and ultra-tough bony osteoderms can be traced from Theropods known as Abeliosaurs. Indominus' horns have been placed above the eye orbit through genetic material hybridized from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops and Gigantosaurus. Fearsome indeed.

"Indominus' roar is estimated to reach 140-160db—the same as a 747 taking off and landing. And it can reach speeds of 30 mph...while confined to its enclosure. Come experience Indominus Rex for yourself beginning this summer. If you dare."

3. New faces include Chris Pratt as hunter Owen Grady (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Dallas Bryce Howard (playing park manager Claire Dearing).

4. A roll call of dinosaurs making an appearance in Jurassic World include:

Ankylosaurus

Apatosaurus

Baryonyx

Dimorphodon – a type of pterosaur (a flying reptile)

Edmontosaurus

Gallimimus

Metriacanthosaurus

Microceratus

Mosasaurus – an aquatic reptile

Pachycephalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Pteranodon – not strictly a dinosaur, but a type of pterosaur

Stegosaurus

Suchomimus

Triceratops

5. Despite the latest research suggesting that a number of dinosaurs were feathered, the film will be firmly sticking to the "traditional" scaly look. Palaeontologist Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton, called the film's decision not to have feathers "a disregard for knowledge," adding, "It helps perpetuate the notion that dinosaurs were all scaly dragons, alien and unlike modern animals".

6. Uber fans are unhappy with the name Jurassic World. Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic era (approximately 252 to 66 million years ago), which was divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The park is called Jurassic World but, as with the earlier films, several of its dinosaurs, including T-Rex and Triceratops, are in fact from the Cretaceous period.

7. The job of director has gone to the relatively unknown Colin Trevorrow. Trevorrow only has one feature film to his name, an 2012 indie comedy Safety Not Guaranteed received critical acclaim. He wrote and directed his first short film, Home Base, in 2002, which has received over 20 million hits online.

8. An early draft of the film script reportedly featured a group of genetically modified dinosaurs, spliced with both human and canine DNA. The dino-dog-humans were law enforcers, going on rescue missions and tackling drug dealers.

9. One of the most spectacular special effects is explained by Colin Trevorrow in Entertainment Weekly: "There's a ride at the park that allows you to get into a gyroscopic sphere and be out in the wild with dinosaurs and travel beneath them—and that goes horribly wrong. Imagine being inside a sphere and then suddenly it breaks and you're rolling like a cat with a ball of yarn."

10. Last but not least, a character who could well steal the show is a water-dwelling, shark-eating creature called Mosasaurus. It is a carnivorous, aquatic lizard, resembling flippered crocodiles, with elongated heavy jaws. The genus existed during the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era), around 70–66 million years ago.

The UK release of Jurassic World is on 11 June.