Although the Jurassic World movies have primarily highlighted brand-new characters, the legacy of the original Jurassic Park trilogy still looms large over this new era of dino blockbusters, and that includes a few players being brought back. B.D. Wong has played Dr. Henry Wu in both Jurassic World movies, and Jeff Goldblum cameoed as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Fallen Kingdom. With Jurassic World 3 on the way, it's understandable to wonder if other Jurassic Park characters will be brought back for the threequel. It's definitely been on director Colin Trevorrow's mind as well, and judging by his latest comments, it sounds like he's taking this particular creative decision seriously.
During his interview with MTV, Colin Trevorrow was asked if he felt an obligation to pay off certain expectations in Jurassic World 3, specifically with regard to legacy characters and some fans feeling cheated if people like Alan Grant or Ellie Sattler didn't appear. This was Trevorrow's response:
I totally agree with that. I would feel robbed too, yeah.
Colin Trevorrow may have passed off directing duties to J.A. Bayona for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but he was still involved with the sequel as screenwriter and executive producer, and for Jurassic World 3, he's stepping back into the director's chair in addition to co-writing the script with Emily Carmichael. With Jurassic World 3 still three years away, obviously he's not going to reveal specific plot information just yet, but since he feels sympathetic towards audience wishes, presumably he's giving thought (or has already decided) about which Jurassic Park characters could seamlessly fit into Jurassic World 3. Does that mean we'll see the original Jurassic Park trio back together for Jurassic World 3? Not necessarily, but one would imagine that the threequel won't be entirely lacking in characters from the previous era, and that's not counting Dr. Wu possibly poking his head up again.
Going back to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Colin Trevorrow was also asked if there's any consideration in even mentioning characters from from the Jurassic Park era as a sort of nod, leading Trevorrow to explain why the sequel opted to highlight Ian Malcolm:
We felt like this was Malcolm's return. This was his... let him have his moment. I feel that way about everyone, especially Laura [Dern], in that he never got to have her own movie. That identified as being something that's important. I feel like this moment with Goldblum, because he had this very clear set of ethical questions that he was able to pose for everyone, we just wanted to put the spotlight on him.
While Jeff Goldblum was brought back to lead The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Sam Neill later starred in Jurassic Park III, Laura Dern only made a minor appearance in the latter movie, and thus hasn't had a leading presence in this franchise since Jurassic Park back in 1993. It certainly would be great to see all three of those actors back together for Jurassic World 3, but I'm hoping Ellie Sattler in particular gets to shine in the upcoming movie, which subsequently builds off Dern's recent major appearances in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Big Little Lies and Twin Peaks.
Jurassic World 3 hits theaters on June 11, 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. For now, you can see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in theaters, and don't forget to read our review and To 3D guide for the movie.
