Credit: Universal StudiosOne of the upcoming Jurassic Park sequels may bring “dead” characters back to life.
The Jurassic franchise is no stranger to bringing back extinct animals, and it’s no stranger to human cloning, either. But if the filmmakers are looking for an excuse to bring a “dead” character back to life in one of the upcoming sequels (it’s a common trend in film, after all), they needn’t look any further than the series’ off-screen deaths, of which there are plenty.
There are currently three Jurassic Park sequels in the works: Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024), an animated series heading to Netflix; Jurassic World 4 (2025), the seventh film in the franchise; and Jurassic Park: Survival (TBA), a first-person, action-adventure video game. And one of them has already brought back a character previously thought to be dead.
Jurassic Park: Survival
Jurassic Park: Survival has confirmed the return of a character who, for the last 31 years since the 1993 film’s release, was presumed dead: the Velociraptor Lex Murphy locks in the freezer. While many would argue that the fate of the raptor was ambiguous at best, there’s no way it could have escaped (at least not until a convenient new character was developed).
Have a look for yourself in the trailer for Survival below, per Jurassic World YouTube:
Related: ‘Jurassic Park: Survival’ Trailer Breakdown
While you may not consider a dinosaur a “character,” the Jurassic World films spend a great deal of time anthropomorphising the original T-Rex and Blue the Velociraptor. Now, they’re characters just like Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). Speaking of characters of the human variety, let’s see who else might be brought back in a future Jurassic Park sequel following an off-screen death. But, of course, let’s be reasonable.
Ray Arnold — Jurassic Park
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We’ve already talked about the possibility of seeing the chain-smoking chief engineer Ray Arnold, who was played by Samuel L Jackson in Jurassic Park, return in Survival. Okay, so we know that Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) discovered his bloodied severed arm in the film, but a video game cameo would require some less suspension of disbelief.
As we don’t see him die, it’s possible he escaped the raptors after they tore off his arm. That said, if you aren’t one of the main characters in the original three Jurassic films, you’re as good as dead — especially when it comes to the raptors. Still, Ray Arnold could show up in the game — with a darn good explanation, of course. It is called Survival, after all.
But if Mr. Arnold survived, where is he during the rest of the Jurassic series, you might ask? Well, we’re not suggesting the game doesn’t kill him off a second time. Sorry, Ray.
Ajay Sidhu — The Lost World: Jurassic Park
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Even diehard Jurassic fans might be hard-pressed to remember Ajay Sidhu (Harvey Jason). The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) character is the best friend of InGen-hired game hunter Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite). While Ajay is killed by raptors with many of the other hunters during the film’s chilling “long grass” scene, we don’t see his death.
There is a deleted scene featuring Ajay’s final final moments as he’s neck-deep in grass while prowling raptors slice through the thick blades towards him like sharks underwater (should have followed your own advice, Ajay — “Don’t go into the long grass!”), but we still don’t see him die. As such, if Jurassic City takes place on Site B, we may see him return.
Remember The Lost World tagline? “Something has survived.” For all we know, it was Ajay.
Zara Young — Jurassic World
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Are you familiar with the story of Moby Dick? You probably already know where we’re going with this one. In Jurassic World (2015), Claire Dearing’s assistant Zara Young (Katie McGrath) becomes the first female character in the franchise to be killed by a dinosaur. Two of them, actually: a Pteranadon and the Mosasaurus. And she’s not even a villain!
Many fans criticized Zara’s death as being “over kill” (no pun intended), as she’s swept off her feet by the flying reptile, plunged into the water where she’s beaten, before they’re both caught in the jaws of the giant lagoon-dwelling creature. But what if she didn’t die? Suppose she wasn’t crushed by those jaws and then escaped into the jungles of Isla Nublar.
Knowing Zara’s luck, she’d have probably walked straight into the Indominus Rex afterwards. That, or she survived only to be blown up by the volcanic eruption four years later. With all that said, if she does show up in Jurassic City, she’s a pointless character anyway.
Charlotte Lockwood — Died Between Movies
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The Jurassic franchise is no longer a stranger to retconning. In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), we’re told that Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) is a “clone” of her grandfather Benjamin Lockwood’s deceased daughter, Charlotte Lockwood. In the same film, it is also implied that she shares genetic material with the dino-hybrid known as the Indoraptor.
However, in Jurassic World Dominion (2022), it’s revealed that, while Maisie is indeed a genetic copy of Lockwood’s granddaughter (also played by Isabella Sermon/Elva Trill plays the adult version), Charlotte, who we also learn was a leading InGen scientist, is actually Maisie’s mother, having used her own DNA to replicate and give birth to a clone.
It turns out Charlotte wasn’t killed in a car crash, either, but instead died of a rare genetic disease. But what if the series further retcons the character by revealing she survived, and being a leading scientist known for her groundbreaking work with InGen, is now being forced to do some shady work for a bioengineering corporation like Biosyn?
Either way, having played two characters, Isabella Sermon stands a much better chance at returning than anyone else in the entire series, dead or alive.
Lewis Dodgson — Jurassic World Dominion
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This is where things can get really interesting in the franchise, albeit more outlandish. Despite only appearing in the first and final movies, Biosyn CEO Lewis Dodgson (played by Cameron Thor in Jurassic Park and Campbell Scott in Dominion) is, technically speaking, the main human villain of the entire Jurassic franchise.
After all, he was the catalyst behind the event that saw the original park collapse (having hired Dennis Nedry to shut down power to the park so that he could steal embryos off the island), which, in turn, led to every other event seen throughout the rest of the series. He’s ambitious, ruthless, greedy, and downright pure evil.
An innovative villain like Lewis Dodgson may have made plans in the event he’s killed off by, say, a pack of Dilophosaurs in the Hyperloop Tunnel in Biosyn’s facility in the Italy Dolomites. Could Dodgson have utilized InGen’s human-cloning technology to make a copy of himself should he ever meet his maker? Will “Dodgson 2.0” appear in a future film?
“Dodgson… Dodgson — we’ve got two Dodgsons here!”
John Hammond — Died Between Movies
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Which leads us nicely onto our next point. Having John Hammond (played by Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park and The Lost World) return to the fold would only make sense in a prequel that explains the origins of the original park. But while we’re on the topic of human cloning, let’s indulge ourselves a little.
In a similar vein to how Dodgson could be brought back for a sequel, Hammond too could return in the form of a human clone. It sounds bonkers, but we’re not the ones who introduced human cloning into the franchise. Of course, a human clone would have to be born from scratch, so a much younger John Hammond, who this time is as ruthless and mean-spirited as he is in Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel, would be intriguing.
Per the official website, here’s the synopsis for Jurassic Park: Survival:
Return to Isla Nublar the day after the events of the beloved 1993 Jurassic Park film in an original adventure 65 million years in the making.
Survive thrilling first-person action as InGen scientist Dr. Maya Joshi, who was unable to,” evacuate Isla Nublar, in this single-player action-adventure game and discover a never-before-told story.
Through thrilling encounters, experience the wonder and danger of dinosaurs, each with their own distinct and adaptive behaviors brought to life by John Hammond’s vision.
The game will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The Jurassic franchise shows no signs of nearing extinction. The upcoming animated series Chaos Theory will premiere on Netflix this year, while the video game Survival will finally reunite fans with the Jurassic Park era. Jurassic World: The Exhibition, Jurassic World Live Tour, and Universal Studios’ Jurassic theme park attractions, continue to wow guests.
Jurassic World 4 is also in development with a 2025 release scheduled. A new report from ProductionList.com (via Screen Rant) says that filming for Jurassic World 4 is set to start in Los Angeles, CA on July 31 this year. A summary of the project also seemingly sheds light on what direction the franchise may be about to take.
Do you think Survival will feature any other characters who were killed off in the original film? Which other characters throughout the entire series could make a comeback in a future Jurassic Park sequel despite being presumed dead? Let Inside the Magic know your thoughts in the comments down below!