When news broke that both Sam Neill and Laura Dern would be reprising their roles from the original Jurassic Park for the upcoming sequel, Jurassic World: Dominion, many wondered to what extent. After all, Jeff Goldblum was back as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but only in the opening and closing scenes.
Well, we can all relax now because according to Dr. Alan Grant himself, the roles will be more than just glorified cameos. While speaking with Yahoo!, Neill revealed that “we’re all the way through the film, Jeff, and me, and Laura.” Just don’t plan on seeing him in many action sequences as he “probably won’t be running quite as fast as I was 27 years ago!”
The plot of Jurassic World: Dominion is still unknown, but the stars are certainly hyping it up. Chris Pratt compared the third outing in the new trilogy to Avengers: Endgame and Bryce Dallas Howard has said that the new film will be “exhilarating.”
Of course, the franchise as a whole enjoyed a massive rejuvenation with Jurassic World. The movie remains the sixth highest-grossing film in history and a sequel came along three years later and grossed $1.3 billion globally. But will they be able to stick the landing?
Well, the first effort hung its hat on nostalgia resulting in a mostly enjoyable experience. The sequel, however, was a mess with essentially two movies in one: escaping the island (again) and then turning into a haunted house film. And let’s not forget the idiotic decision made by a little girl at the end that sets up the third one. That ending certainly means we’re in for a truly epic conclusion, but whether or not returning director Colin Trevorrow can execute it remains to be seen.
Jurassic World: Dominion is still scheduled for release on June 11th, 2021, but that may change since production was shut down shortly after beginning due to COVID-19. And, of course, there’s also the small issue of AMC and Regal banning Universal movies from their theaters.