Jurassic Parkfans are a passionate group. Ever since the original film came out in 1993 (based on the novel by Michael Crichton), audiences have been thrilled and delighted to watch dinosaurs come to life onscreen. The original trilogy was so beloved that the franchise was revived in 2015 withJurassic World. Since then, three more films have been released. The latest isJurassic World Rebirth, which came out in June, starring Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mahershala Ali (True Detective), and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton).
There is a ton of nostalgia wrapped up in theJurassic Parkfranchise, especially when it comes to the original characters. It was amazing to see the return of BD Wong as Dr Henry Wu inJurassic World.Fans couldn’t wait when it was announced that Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum would reunite inJurassic World Dominionas Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Dr. Ian Malcolm. Even with these reprisals, not everyone has returned to the franchise. There are still a number of key characters who survived the first threeJurassic Parkmovies who have yet to appear in aJurassic Worldinstallment…and some of them should come back as soon as possible.
Here are 10 key characters from the first threeJurassic Parkmovies who have yet to return for aJurassic Worldfilm.
10Nick Van Owen
‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’
Vince Vaughn’s early filmcareer saw him in an array of dramatic films before he became a well-known name in comedy. He played a bully in the classic sports movieRudyand Norman Bates in the 1998Psychoremake. In 1997, he landed the role of Nick Van Owen in Steven Spielberg’sJurassic Parksequel. Nick is a documentary filmmaker who accompanies Dr. Malcolm to Isla Sorna. This is the island that dinosaurs were cloned and raised on before being moved to Hammond’s park on Isla Nublar, which is whereJurassic Parktakes place.
Nick causes quite a bit of trouble inThe Lost Worldwhen he tries to protect the dinosaurs from his fellow humans. Audiences argue that Nick incites much of the danger in the film, but it might be interesting to see what would happen if Nick returned somewhere down the line. For a while, Vaughn was only doing comedies, but in recent years he’s been back to doing dramas as well…so this would still be in his wheelhouse.
9Billy Brennan
‘Jurassic Park III’
Billy Brennan has quite thearc inJurassic Park III. He joins the expedition to Isla Sorna as Dr. Grant’s graduate assistant. He gets the group into trouble when he secretly steals several Velociraptor eggs, causing the angry mother to hunt them down. He redeems himself in Dr. Grant’s eyes, however, later when he saves Eric Kirby from Pteranodons. It is believed that Billy dies in this scene, but in the end he is ultimately rescued.
Billy is played by Alessandro Nivola, who had previously starred inInventing the AbbottsandMansfield Park. The actor wasn’t really sure what to make of Billy when he starred in this movie and neither were moviegoers. The script was rewritten a number of times, which could be the cause of Billy’s awkward placement. In a2002 interview with IGN, Nivola admitted that he is not interested in returning to the franchise. “It was like the only part I’ve ever done that just had nothing for me to latch on to, character-wise,” he explained. “It was kind of maddening.” That said, Nivola did have a great time hanging out with Sam Neill on set.
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The latest installment is definitely a sequel, but it aims to carve its own path alongside its predecessors.
8Dr. Sarah Harding
Dr. Sarah Harding is an animal behaviorist who accompanies friend/love interest Dr. Malcolm to Isla Sorna. In the books, it is implied that she is the daughter of Dr. Gerry Harding (Jerry Molen), Jurassic Park’s chief veterinarian in the first book. Gerry’s role was reduced in the film adaptation,Jurassic Park. He is the one looking after the Triceratops at the beginning of the movie, even though viewers aren’t afforded his name. His connection to Sarah is never really established in the movies.
Sarah is smart and passionate about animals, but audiences didn’t really connect with her. Sarah’s decisions were often reckless and endangered others. As a character, Sarah had a lot to live up to by taking on the leading female role in aJurassic Parkfilm after Laura Dern’s turn as fan-favorite Dr. Ellie Sattler. Sarah wasportrayed by Julianne Moore, who has expressed interest in returning to the franchise. This could be a good opportunity to do right by Moore and Sarah in theJurassic Parkuniverse.
7Paul Kirby
Dr. Grant is struggling to get funding for Velociraptor research when Paul Kirby swoops in as a businessman willing to pay Dr. Grant one million dollars for an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Unfortunately for Dr. Grant, this tour is a ruse. Paul isn’t a millionaire. He and his wife, Amanda, are divorced and their son, Eric, disappeared near Isla Sorna while parasailing with Amanda’s new boyfriend. The couple are willing to do anything, including luring Dr. Grant and his assistant to the island under false pretenses.
Paul is a very realistic dad.William H. Macy’s performancein the role only aids in that realism. Viewers have praised the fact that Paul doesn’t feel like an action hero, he feels like a normal dad worried about his son.Director Joe Johnston notes in Film Journalthat this is by design. “You could think of a hundred actors who would be more apt to be stuck on an island, trying to survive among man-eating dinosaurs,” says Johnston. “Bill Macy is not a name and a face that automatically springs to mind, but that’s what makes it interesting.”
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Sorry fans, T. rex was in all likelihood a lumbering animal with an anatomy more befitting an overgrown, land-borne vulture.
6Amanda Kirby
Amanda Kirby isn’t the best at staying quiet on an island teeming with dinosaurs, but Téa Leoni plays her as an authentic mother willing to do whatever it takes to get her son back. Johnston liked the idea of pairing Macy and Leoni in this movie, remarking that they looked like a couple one would want to know more about.
Amanda has a great sceneinJurassic Park IIIwhen the Velociraptors hunting down those missing eggs (thanks a lot, Billy) finds them. The Alpha raptor believes that Amanda is the Alpha of this human group, perhaps because she is the only woman, and wantsherto return the stolen eggs instead of one of the men. Amanda steadily retrieves the eggs and returns them to the raptors. It’s a tense scene and Leoni plays it well.
5Eric Kirby
Eric is Amanda and Paul’s 12-year-old son, played by Trevor Morgan. The young actor had a pretty familiar face by the time this movie was made, havingappeared inThe Sixth SenseandThe Patriotjust a few years earlier. Eric is stuck all alone on Isla Sorna for almost eight weeks before being rescued. He’s an incredibly capable kid, at one point saving Dr. Grant from Velociraptors.
Dr. Grant and Eric bond a little during their time on the island, and so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Eric might turn up again. He’s resourceful and has good instincts around dinosaurs. Between 2001 and 2002, writer Scott Ciencin published theJurassic Park Adventurestrilogy. These books, written for children, focus on Eric’s time alone on the island and introduce new adventures for Eric and Dr. Grant. So, the character has definitely been fleshed out enough to warrant an encore.
4Charlie Degler
InJurassic Park III, it is revealed that Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler are no longer dating. In fact, Ellie is now married to someone else with two children of her own. One of these kids is three-year-old Charlie Degler, who adorably answers his mother’s satellite phone when Dr. Grant tries to call his old friend for help. Initially, Charlie is a little too distracted by the TV to go get his mom, but he does eventually inform her thatthe “Dinosaur Man"was calling. In response, Dr. Sattler sends the U.S. Marines and Navy to save the survivors on Isla Sorna.
Charlie’s return to the franchise could be a ton of fun. The cute character has a brief but pivotal role in the movie, and so bringing him back would be a nice little nod for hardcoreJurassic Parkfans. Charlie was played by Blake Michael Bryan as a baby, but 24 years have passed, which means he’d be about 27 years old today. Anyone could be cast as an adult Charlie. The only thing more fun than a new star is a new star whose role ties back to the source material.
3Kelly Curtis
Kelly Curtis is the 13-year-old daughter of Dr. Malcolm inThe Lost World: Jurassic Park. Vanessa Lee Chester landed the role when Spielberg met her at the premiere of Alfonso Cuarón’sA Little Princess. Kelly stows away in a storage compartment when Dr. Malcolm goes to Isla Sorna, which is how she gets onto the island. She means well and is great at gymnastics, at one point using her skills to save Dr. Malcolm from danger when shekicks a Velociraptor. Children are good at saving the adults in this franchise.
Jeff Goldblum did return to play Dr. Malcolm in theJurassic Worldmovies, but Kelly hasn’t come back yet. It’s canon that Dr. Malcolm has a few kids, though Kelly is the only one who audiences ever meet. She’d make a great addition to a new film. It might even be fun to see her alongside her siblings or with the next two characters on this list…
2Lex Murphy
‘Jurassic Park’
Who can forget the look onLex Murphy’s face when the jelloon her spoon starts to shake? The fear on her face is subtle but incredibly effective. Lex Murphy is about 13 years old when her grandfather, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), invites her and her younger brother, Tim, to see his dinosaur park. Lex and Tim spend most of the movie with Dr. Grant, who doesn’t really know how to interact with kids, as they fight for their lives. The sequence towards the end with Lex and Tim hiding from raptors in the kitchen remains an iconic scene to this day.
Jurassic Parkwas ahead of its time in promoting compelling female characters in science and technology. Lex loves computers and manages to reboot the park’s system to get the phones and locks working again. She’s played wonderfully by Ariana Richards, who toldEntertainment Weeklythat she landed the role after her audition tape scream woke Spielberg’s sleeping wife, who subsequently thought a child was really in peril. While Lex and Tim do appear briefly at the start ofThe Lost World, they don’t have significant roles, and they don’t show up again.
1Tim Murphy
If anyone deserves to return to the franchise, it’s Tim Murphy. Tim is 11 years old when he and Lex visit the park. Tim loves dinosaurs and immediately latches onto Dr. Grant, who he follows around from the very beginning. Tim is played by Joseph Mazzello, who’d previously auditioned for Spielberg’sHookbut had been deemed too young at the time. Mazzello went on to star in movies likeThe River Wild,The Social Network, andBohemian Rhapsody. In 2010, he played marine Eugene Sledge in HBO’s World War II miniseriesThe Pacific, which Spielberg produced.
As John Hammond’s grandson with his own passion for dinosaurs, Tim seems like an obvious choice when considering which characters to bring back. In a live Q&A with IGN in 2020, Mazzello said, “I hope we get to find out some day” what happened to Tim after the events of the first two films. He also notes that there is still a ton that could be done with the character. Would Tim still love dinosaurs, or would his experience on the island make him more apprehensive? It’s honestly surprising that Universal hasn’t pursued this avenue already. There’s beenbuzz about Timreturning for a while now, though nothing has happened yet. It would be a huge deal if Lex and Tim returned to the franchise.
