SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information that may be considered SPOILERS for ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you may wish to turn back.
Fans were pleased to see Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm in ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’, but it’s probably a given that some would have liked to have seen even more. After all, Malcolm was the main hero of ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ the sequel to the original movie. But a trip back to Isla Nublar was never in the cards according to writer Colin Trevorrow, who directed ‘Jurassic World’ and will return to helm the upcoming third movie.
As he stated when asked if there were ever plans for a lengthier role for Malcolm in ‘Fallen Kingdom’:
“We never did. It always felt really cheap to me. It always felt fake. It felt like a construct of screenwriters trying to figure out how to fit in a character they love. I have so much respect for those characters I just wouldn’t want them doing anything I don’t think they’d naturally do.”
Instead, his role in the story, testifying in a court as to the risks involved in saving Isla Nublar and the dinosaurs on it in the face of an upcoming volcanic eruption was more in keeping with the character, at least according to Trevorrow.
And Malcolm wasn’t the only character from the original movie cycle to return in this one. BD Wong‘s Doctor Henry Wu also appeared in an even larger role. And Trevorrow has expressed a desire to see Sam Neill and Laura Dern return in some capacity as Dr. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler-Degler for the third film. But most likely, their parts will be limited as well, allowing newer cast members Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard the chance to shine.
‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ is now playing in theaters. A third untitled movie is already set for release on June 11, 2021.
