Two T. rexes, face to face, at the heart of the Mole Antonelliana. This is the spectacular proposal from the National Museum of Cinema in Turin with the exhibition T. rex vs. T. rex. From Fossils to Cinema Icons, scheduled from 19 November 2026 to 31 January 2028. The two skeletons, each approximately 10 metres long and weighing one tonne, are composed of authentic fossil remains and come from the United States. They will be positioned in a combat stance on a three-metre-high platform, specially designed around the panoramic lift of the Aula del Tempio.
The exhibition is born from a collaboration with the gallery Theatrum Mundi and brings science and fiction, specimens and images, wonder and terror into dialogue. The itinerary, curated by Gianni Canova and Stefano Boni with the collaboration of Giaime Alonge, spans over a century of cinema history and visual culture. From the earliest nineteenth-century representations on magic lantern slides to contemporary cinema, also tracing the evolution of special effects. On display will also be posters, photographs, screenplays, sketches, storyboards, animatronics, models, toys and video games.
A journey that tells how the T. rex evolved from a prehistoric creature to a cinematic monster, ultimately becoming a true icon of pop culture. Among the artists featured are Karel Zeman, Ray Harryhausen, Carlo Rambaldi, Glen McIntosh, Bruno Bozzetto and Zerocalcare. "T. rex vs. T. rex does not merely tell the story of dinosaurs: it also tells the story of how we have imagined them," emphasises Canova. For Boni, the relationship between cinema and science began long before the Lumières, and cinema has progressively given shape to what could not be seen.
The exhibition thus also explores the relationship between humanity, nature, technology and imagination. "It is an unprecedented encounter," stress the president and director of the National Museum of Cinema, Enzo Ghigo and Carlo Chatrian, who describe the two fossils as symbols of the dinosaur's greatness and power. "The simultaneous presence, in the Aula del Tempio, of two original Tyrannosaurus rex specimens represents an extraordinary scientific achievement," states Cableri.
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