Here's why Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) didn't return in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Released in theaters in 1993, Steven Spielberg brought one of the biggest blockbusters of all-time to the screen with Jurassic Park. The movie was an adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1990 best-selling novel and launched a franchise after the near $1 billion worldwide gross of the film.
A few years after Jurassic Park came out, Spielberg began actively developing Jurassic Park 2. The movie started filming in 1996 and brought back Jeff Goldblum in a leading role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. The sequel's story followed a team of InGen scientists led by Malcolm as they went to Isla Sorna to study the dinosaurs, only to discover another faction of InGen attempting to take the dinosaurs to a new location stateside. When The Lost World hit theaters in 1997, Goldblum was just one of two stars from the original movie to be part of the cast, with Richard Attenborough's return as John Hammond the other. So, where were Alan and Ellie?
The reasons for The Lost World not including Sam Neill or Laura Dern returning as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler come down to the story and development. Crichton was initially hesitant to write a sequel book for Spielberg to develop a movie around, and the early discussions between them and writer David Koepp didn't include Alan or Ellie returning. The Lost World novel didn't have roles for either of the former stars and only made mention of what they were up to, and Spielberg and Koepp's screenplay took the same approach. Without Alan and Ellie, the sequel was able to elevate Malcolm from a supporting character to the lead.
The Lost World might have moved forward without Alan and Ellie as part of the story, but the franchise quickly corrected course. Sam Neill was brought back in a lead role for Jurassic Park 3 a few years later, while Laura Dern was featured in a small capacity. Oddly enough, their returns here happened without Goldblum making another appearance, which kept the original trio out of the same film once again.
Fans of the original Jurassic Park cast should be pleased to know that Alan, Ellie, and Ian will be reunited in Jurassic World: Dominion. It has been confirmed that Neill, Dern, and Goldblum will all return for significant roles in the trilogy capper, with Goldblum's return coming on the heels of his small appearance in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Director Colin Trevorrow has yet to reveal exactly how or why the original stars will reconnect in Jurassic World 3, but it will finally give fans the reunion many hoped to see in The Lost World: Jurassic Park or Jurassic Park III.
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August 04, 2020 at 05:06AM
