This summer sees the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the sequel to 2015's smash hit Jurassic World. As has been true with every film in the Jurassic Park/World franchise, the dinosaurs are again the selling point, and Fallen Kingdom boasts a terrifying new dinosaur to frighten and entertain audiences. But while the dinosaurs may be what get you in the door, it is the characters that make or break the film. This sequel boasts a large cast of returning favorites and new faces, and we now have a much better idea of who the characters are that will be joining Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire Dearing and Chris Pratt's Owen Grady.
First up is the character of Franklin Webb, played by Paper Towns' Justice Smith. Part of Fallen Kingdom's story will have to do with the animal rights organization, the Dinosaur Protection Group, that Claire Dearing founded after the events of Jurassic World. Franklin Webb works with Claire at the DPG as an IT guy. According to Slash Film, Franklin is basically the opposite of Owen Grady. He is not an adventurer, and like most computer nerd clichés, he is no fan of being exposed to nature. All of that makes his choice of place to work an odd one. I don't know why Claire needs an IT guy on the dinosaur rescue mission, but as we can see from the trailers, Justice Smith's character will be providing plenty of screams and some of the humor in this film.
Next we have the character of Zia Rodriguez. Portrayed by Daniella Pineda from The Originals, Zia is a paleo veterinarian who also works for Claire's nonprofit dedicated to saving the dinosaurs from extinction. Once hoping to become a Jurassic World intern, Zia has yet to see a dinosaur in person after the incident at the park complicated her career path. Even though she hasn't seen one, her love for dinosaurs is unwavering and she is a fierce advocate of saving the dinosaurs from the threat on Isla Nublar. Apparently her exuberance makes for a fun pairing with Franklin Webb and the two have a humorous dynamic.
Also joining the cast is a man who needs know introduction, veteran actor and Academy Award nominee James Cromwell. The Babe actor joins the film as Benjamin Lockwood, the former partner of Jurassic Park founder John Hammond. This character will play an interesting role in the film, as he has to deal with the fallout from the incident at Jurassic World. He won't be an outright villain, but he will have somewhat questionable ideas about how to deal with the situation.
The Lockwood family looks like they will play a major role in this film as Isabella Sermon plays Maisie Lockwood, the granddaughter of Benjamin Lockwood. This is the little girl in the trailers that hides under the covers as the Indoraptor enters her room. What the Indoraptor is doing there remains to be seen but I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the film, Benjamin Lockwood enlists the help of Claire and Owen to save his granddaughter.
As we saw in Jurassic World, the dinosaurs are just a force of nature from an era long since passed, but the villains are the humans who wish to exploit and profit off the creatures. Some of the new characters too concerned with whether they can than whether they should are Rafe Spall's Eli Mills and Toby Jones' Gunnar Eversol, seen at what looks like a dino auction in the trailer. Also playing an as-yet-unnamed and possibly the main villain role is Ted Levine. They join BD Wong's Dr. Henry Wu as the shadowy figures using dinosaurs for nefarious ends.
These character descriptions are interesting, and I'm especially curious about the story of the Lockwoods and what role they played in Jurassic Park's past and the current debacle. Of course, we can't talk about the cast of Fallen Kingdom without mentioning that Jeff Goldblum will also be returning to his most quoted role of Ian Malcolm. You can catch all of the new and returning faces, before they get eaten that is, when Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits theaters on June 22.
