What Dinosaurs are in the Movie 65.
Although the Jurassic Park / World Franchise has currently reached its climax in 2022’s with Jurassic World Dominion and there seemed to be nothing on the Horizon for dinosaur fans to sink their teeth into in the near future. That is until a trailer for ’65’ dropped in December 2022 and we got to see Adam Driver, fighting dinosaurs! We take a look at which dinosaurs might be featuring in the Movie 65 below.
The species of dinosaur in the movie ’65’ include Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor, Deinonychus or Velociraptor, possible prehistoric crocodilians like Deinosuchus, pterosaurs including Dsungaripterus and Quetzalcoatlus and unknown species resembling a hybrid of ankylosaurus and T-Rex.
At last a dinosaur movie with, almost, a budget to match the ever popular Jurassic Park and world franchises. Hopefully it encourages more prehistoric movies to be made in the near future. However its popularity may depend on the dinosaurs within the movie, and we take a look at what they might be below.
Jan 26th: update to add the dinosaurs ( kinda) they added in the second trailer.
Update March 10th – Movie is released. Some spoilers
The trailer for the Meg 2: The Trench was shown at CinemaCon today(27th April)there are new dinosaurs and marine reptiles in it. We take a look here and on the link below.
So here is a table of the dinosaurs we think you can see in the movie ( happy to be corrected on this!) they are in an order of sorts in case you are looking for a specific name for a dinosaur but be warned there was not a lot of accuracy paid to these we think so you just have our best guess!
| Dinosaur name | When it lived (approximately) |
| Deinosuchus or a prehistoric freshwater eel. | 80 -70 mya |
| Atrociraptor (based on a guess this was North America at the time and its same era may also be a troodon as we discuss below | 68.5 mya |
| Tyrankylosaurus – it looks like a cross between an ankylosaurus and a T-Rex. Not in fossil record! | ???? |
| Pelycosaur / Nothosaurus / lizard type reptile or similar. They kinda look a little like those black dog things from avatar in truth. | honestly like 2-300 mya |
| Dsungaripterus – actually looks like this at least with the crest although it did live in what is now China. | early cretaceous – 120 million years ago |
| Tyrannosaur ( possible) with long arms as it walks on all fours… | 68 – 66 million years ago |
| Oviraptor – an angry one (they lived in Asia) | 85-75 million years ago |
| The Asteroid – this actually was probably pretty similar! | 66 million years ago (just to be accurate 😉 |
So really this is a above average monster movie, but not really a dinosaur movie there were reports that is did actually feature a three legged ankylosaur, and a triceratops at some point but these were removed.
These two would have added some evidence to the 65 million (66 we know) years ago title, and the location as North America but as they ended up on the cutting room floor we will never know.
if you are looking for cool dinosaur stuff like movies, masks, fossils, books toys, models and so much more we have put in the ground work for you and have collected some of our favorites here for you to browse over.
A word about the Baby Dinosaur in the 65 movie – Tyrankylosaurus?
The more we think about it the more we are confused as it really is a stretch. We can accept that not every animal from 65 million years ago has been found fossilized, and there are certainly gaps in our evidence and knowledge.
However to introduce what looks like one of Jurassic Worlds, Dr Wu’s mistaken Hybrid experiments into the movie seems unneeded and unnecessary, especially – – – Spoiler alert as they then have it chomped to death far to soon after, basically telling Arianna Greenblatts character “You cant have nice things!”
We have named it Tyrankylosaurus after the dinosaur that appeared in the Lego Jurassic World series. The episode was hybrid horror if you wanted to look it up and the hybrid in the AR game Jurassic World: alive which we can’t help thinking may have been on in the background or being played when these scenes were being written!
![Jurassic World Dominion Super Colossal Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figure, Extra Large Dinosaur Toy at 41.5 Inches with Movable Joints and Eating Feature [Amazon Exclusive]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41jfjWugV+L._SL500_.jpg)
Dinosaurs in the movie ’65’
We want to make it clear that we have no insider information about the plot, the characters and the dinosaurs in this movie but from EXTENSIVE pausing of the trailer and a little but of conjecture and guess work these are the dinosaurs we think we can spot in the movie 65 so far.
Is Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Movie 65?
The most easily, from the trailer for 65 at least, identifiable dinosaur and perhaps the most expected is one that very closely resembles a T-Rex. It appears behind them in a waterfall. (making us think of a similar scene in Jurassic Park – The Lost World, but darker and more scary.
T-Rex was alive at the end of the time of the dinosaurs (and yes most dinosaur geeks and scientists know this is likely 66 million years ago rather than 65 but this is not yet common knowledge with the movie going public so we can give Sony a pass with this!)
Also if they did land on Earth 65 million years ago the movie would not be quite as exciting if Adam Driver was walking around kicking the feet of millions of Dead dinosaurs. (although it would be less dangerous for the characters, only slightly less)
So as the Apex predator of the time it makes sense to have it in the movie, that and of course T-Rex is the world’s most popular dinosaur!
However although T-Rex is the most popular and famous dinosaur, there were plenty that looked like it all over the world at the time ( T-Rex was found in What is North America) if they landed in Asia (well what is Asia Now) It could be a tarbosaurus or similar which is slightly smaller but very similar looking.
However, we are not expecting Natural history levels of accuracy in the movie, and really there is little need for them to name the dinosaurs either, so they have a pretty free reign. We will take a look at the argument for and against accuracy in a section below for the purists.
Our bet is still firmly on a T-Rex at the time of writing though, especially with the inclusion of a large ( although it has to be said possibly small for a T-Rex), footprint in the 65 movie trailer as well.
We have, much more information on the site on T-Rex appearance and behaviour which you can access from search or from the ones we listed below.
A possible Velociraptor, Atrociraptor, or Utahraptor
There seems to be a smaller predator that is insisting on Adam Driver and his pint sized companion, Ariana Greenblatt, are a suitable meal, however presuming they have landed in what is North America 65 million years ago it could be a number of dinosaurs.
Be it the ‘fast’, ‘savage or ‘utah’ thief there is certainly a raptor or Dromaeosaur of some description in the ’65’ dinosaur movie and it appears to be a major antagonist. the scenes released so far show it pulling Adam Driver’s character back ( after scarilly breathing behind him), and jumping towards the characters.
Although identifying which species is difficult, unless it was a larger deinonychus or utahraptor then there are liberties being paid with the size of it. (Again its a movie not a documentary so lets keep the high horse stabled for the moment). We are sure that more information will be leaked or released in the coming months and will update if the trailers show more of this dinosaurs.
However the long tail, pointed snout, long foot claw and longer grabbing arms definitely suggest a raptor of some description.
- From viewing the second trailer for ’65’ we are starting to think this may well be a troodon of some description, just a gut feeling.
Deinosuchus or possibly Sarcosuchus seem to be in the 65 movie.
65 million years ago Not everything with teeth was a dinosaur and early precursors to crocodiles, although they pre and post date dinosaurs, swam in the rivers, swamps, and oceans of the prehistoric world.
The most likely candidate, it terms of time accuracy, for the species of prehistoric crocodile, for the scene of Adam Driver walking through a swamp with a large tail surfacing behind him, is the Deinosuchus which was a monster crocodile of 26 to 36 feet in length and a weight of 5-11,000lbs.
It is currently thought to have lived 80-70 million years ago so puts it in the ballpark for the movie setting of 65 million years ago. Its remains have also been found in North carolina, if the movie is indeed set in an area that would become the United States.
The outside bet, and if they choose to go big, is the Sarcosuchus which is, arguably, the largest known crocodile species ever at 41 feet long. However with even a modern day saltwater crocodile being up to 20 feet in length and a terrifying sight, it doesn’t really matter which huge prehistoric croc they went for,
At almost twice the size of modern day crocodiles it would have been large enough to make a snack of any time travelling humans it came across, and we are fairly sure it will try in the movie.
However Sarcosuchus was located in what is now Africa and 133 – 112 million years ago.
Ankylosaurus (or the Crocodilian above)
There appears, in a blink and you miss it, scene in the trailer of a large animal pushing through trees. It is low to the ground, so not a sauropod, and with the size of the trees it is pushing, to large for a small predator.
So from the seriously split second viewing, even slowing it down ( which you can try on YouTube yourself as we have linked to the trailer) we have looked and think it looked, at least a little, like a ankylosaurus or similar armored dinosaur.
However, it also could be the crocodile mentioned earlier, probably deinosuchus, continuing a chase on land. (in fact the more we watch it back the more we think it may well be this)
Pteranodon
A flock of flying reptiles is seen a couple of times in the new trailer released at the end of January. However, scary as this flock would be to see for our two survivors, who are seen below then pteranodons as they efly, the pair of huge feet that snatches one from the sky would be a whole new level of horrendous.
A Pteranodon, it thats what this flying reptile turns out to be, could be 12 to 19 feet in wingspan and an body length ( of large individuals) of 8.5 feet, so for something to pluck it out of the sky, why dramatic license we think, could only be a much larger flying reptile. Which we look at below.
ti could of course be a smaller species of flying reptile ( we certainly hope so) as it is likely they did feed on each other depending on size and ease of capture.
Quetzalcoatlus
It is actually hard to tell this flying reptile from the trailer for the dinosaur movie ’65’ as all we see are a pair of large feet as it grabs a smaller pterosaur that looks a little like a Pteranodon. Quetzalcoatlus was one of the largest flying reptiles ever and did live in North America ( if that’s where this is set) at the end of the cretaceous period.
it could have a wingspan of an astonishing 30 feet and would have been as tall as a giraffe when standing it could also weight upto 550 lbs making it not only one of the largest, but also the heaviest of all animals to fly.
We have more information on the quetzalcoatlus here on this page.
Nothosaurus or similar ( probably not a Plesiosaur)
We get a view at what we worryingly suspect might be supposed to be a plesiosaur of some description, although with a shorter neck than most species, and the ability to haul its self onto land. Which is not a gift most paleontologist think was bestowed on the marine reptile (it wasn’t a dinosaur) the plesiosaur.
So with this in mind we think it may have been inspired from the Nothosaurus in camp cretaceous, which while could walk on land, didn’t live 65 million years ago and actually lived 240-210 million years ago.
So it may be intended to be a type of Nothosaurus. there are in fact two or three seen in the trailer attacking the little girl with one dragging her through very shallow beach waters ( it looks like) with a small thin head. we have more information on swimming dinosaurs here.
Note: the advantage of being set 65 million years ago is that we have not discovered anywhere near fossils of the total number of dinosaurs, flying reptiles or marine reptiles that would have been alive at the time, and its gives a virtual carte blanche for the makers of ’65’ to create dinosaurs ( based on what we know of course) of any shape or size they wish!
Herbivores in the Movie 65.
Unless the ankylosaurus we mentioned above turns out to be correct, we did not spot any herbivores in the movie, at least in the trailer at least, however we do expect them to make an appearance.
The appearance of either a T-Rex or at least a T-Rex Sized dinosaur in the movie, as well as large crocodilians and smaller ( though possibly not small enough) faster predators like the Utahraptor, Velociraptor (or Atrociraptor or Troodon if geographically and timescale accurate) then there must have been herbivores around for them to chow down on.
*Update, still no herbivores seen in the second trailer!
As hungry as they seem it is unlikely they are waiting for deep space exploring time travellers for dinner.
You can watch and pause the official trailer from Sony pictures here yourself!
and the second trailer 9 relased January 26th is below.
Will 65 Have a Sequel?
As will most movies whether a sequel will be greenlit will depend on how well 65 performs as a movie. It is more likely to be rated (see below) as a more adult oriented movie than the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies and The Land Before time this certainly wont be.
With the cast currently known, the writers of a quiet place and the budget of 91 million dollars it is certainly not a B movie production and hopefully pulls in the numbers to warrant either a sequel or a prequel as, at least for us, there can never be enough dinosaur movies!
Is this Kylo Ren Vs. Dinosaurs?
Well yes and no, Adam driver did play Kylo Ren in the most recent Star wars franchise movies, but although again including him in action in Space there are no lightsabers or force powers here. He does have a pretty futuristic gun though, so it levels the board a little against the dinosaurs he will encounter.
Also the young actress playing Koa, the young girl with him, is played by Ariana Greenblatt who also stared as the young Gamora in Avengers Endgame. So there are two stars of the largest movie franchises ( sorry Avatar) in the movie, although neither will have the powers they had n those movies, unluckily for them!)
What rating is 65 the Dinosaur movie.
At the time of writing 65 does not have an official rating, however it looks to be more adult orientated from the trailer at least.
Some points to note though are its two film stars in the trailer for the dinosaur movie 65 are unlikely to be in any immediate peril or risk or death if the studio is indeed considering other movies in the series and one is a child actress which makes it even more unlikely that there will be any scenes of death.
however, if there are other supporting members of cast in the movie, which have not been seen yet, this may change as they tend to be more ‘expendable’ in movies of this type
So while unlikely to be an high age requirement it may not be suitable for very Young Children. We will update once the information comes out.
Conclusion
From the initial trailer it seems that dinosaurs in the movie 65 will heavily feature predatory species including Tyrannosaurs Rex, Raptor Species and prehistoric crocodiles. No Obvious herbivorous dinosaurs have yet to be seen although they are expected to make an appearance in the movie.
References
- https://screenrant.com/65-movie-news-updates/
- https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63880939
- https://a-z-animals.com/blog/prehistoric-crocodiles-the-complete-list-of-ancient-crocodiles/
Hi, I am Roy Ford a General Studies and English Teacher who has taught all over the world. What started as a fossil collection became a great way to teach, motivate and inspire students of all ages and all over the world about dinosaurs and from that and children’s love of dinosaurs came the site dinosaur facts for kids, a resource for all ages.
