For over a hundred years, dinosaurs have inspired and thrilled audiences, commanding blockbuster status in museums and movie theaters. But one dinosaur towers among them all as a king – a tyrant lizard king. With leaps in graphics technology and revelations in tyrannosaur paleontology, T. REX revisits the GOAT in a captivating science adventure. T. REX brings the Greatest Of All Tyrants back to Cincinnati Museum Center’s OMNIMAX Theater May 22.
The film opens alongside the museum’s LEGO Jurassic World: The Exhibition. After guests come fact-to-tooth with a massive LEGO T. Rex, they can see it in action on the OMNIMAX screen. Film and exhibition combo packages are available.
T. REX is a love letter to the iconic dinosaur, anchored by the true story of three young fossil hunters who made the discovery of a lifetime – and every child’s dream. On a walk across public lands in North Dakota in 2023, the three boys spotted a large, fossilized leg bone peeking out of the ground. T. REX intercuts the remarkable fossil dig sparked by that discovery with cutting edge graphics that bring prehistory’s most famous dinosaur to life – from hatchling to hulking adult. Narrated by Jurassic Park actor and 90s childhood idol Sam Neill, T. REX explores the newest science that has helped reinvent our understanding of the iconic predator.
While Sam Neill merely — but memorably — played a paleontologist in film, CMC’s real life paleontologist Glenn Storrs, Ph.D., makes an appearance in the film, along with cameos from the museum’s Dinosaur Hall and Paleo Lab, in a special cut exclusively screening in CMC’s OMNIMAX Theater.
“T. REX delighted audiences when it first debuted here so we’re excited to bring it back and give fans another chance to see prehistory’s most famous dinosaur on the region’s biggest screen,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “Dinosaurs have become synonymous with museums and the T. rex is often not just a gateway to dinosaurs but to science in general. After seeing T. REX on the OMNIMAX screen we hope even more guests walk out with a renewed interest in science.”
Starring alongside the T. rex are a cast of prehistoric characters including its arch-rival Triceratops; Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest animals ever to take flight; and the 25-foot-long Sinraptor, a species that likely fed on young tyrannosaurs. Hat tips to famous specimens, landmark discoveries and wild cinematic T. rex depictions over the last century help bring the film to life.
“We never could have planned the inspiring story that unfolded in front of the cameras,” said producer and writer Andy Wood. “Kids finding any large dinosaur is remarkable, but as the shoot progressed, the team realized that we were witnessing something even more rare – a truly historic T. rex discovery. This is the kind of story that documentary filmmakers dream of capturing.”
T. REX pairs the thrilling discovery by the young boys at Hell Creek with top tyrannosaur experts, a coalition of natural history institutions and pioneering paleontology and visual effects artists in the most dazzling and accurate T. Rex film ever made.
“This is more than just a documentary – it’s a chance for families to experience the thrill of discovery through the eyes of these young explorers in a format that makes you feel like you’re right there with them,” said co-director/writer David Clark.
T. REX opens in CMC’s Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater on Friday, May 22.
Cincinnait Museum Center