'Jurassic World' Sequel Trailer Confirms a Major Character Has Been Recast

A brand-new trailer for the upcoming Jurassic World sequel has arrived, but unfortunately, it looks like a beloved legacy character has been recast (and probably killed).

The Jurassic franchise is teeming with iconic characters. The Jurassic Park trilogy (Jurassic Park [1993], The Lost World: Jurassic Park [1997], and Jurassic Park III [2001]) features the “core trio”, Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).

But let’s not forget Lex Murphy (Arianna Richards), Tim Murphy (Joe Mazzello), and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). Even characters who are killed off are usually given legacy status, such as Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) and Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight).

The Jurassic World trilogy gave way to an entirely new ensemble: Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon). Simply put, there’s no shortage of characters spanning this long-running franchise. And that’s just the theatrical side of things.

In 2020, the very first Jurassic series arrived on Netflix in the form of the 3D-animated spinoff Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022), which introduced even more names into the mix.

(L to R) Ian Malcolm, Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Claire Dearing, Owen Grady, Maisie Lockwood, and Kayla Watts in 'Jurassic World Dominion' — Credit: Universal Studios

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous

While aimed at younger audiences, Camp Cretaceous continued to flesh out the lore established in the films through the eyes of Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams), Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula (Kausar Mohammed), Kenji Kon (Ryan Potter), Sammy Gutierrez (Raini Rodriguez), Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone), and Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega). Six teens who become trapped on Isla Nublar after the dinosaur breakout as seen in the box office beast, Jurassic World (2015), which grossed $1.67B worldwide.

Now, a follow-up animated series titled Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024) is heading to Netflix, and it sees the return of the Camp Cretaceous gang. But hold onto your butts, because it comes with some pretty bad news.

The 'Camp Cretaceous' kids running from a Spinosaur — Credit: Universal Studios / DreamWorks / Animation Television / Amblin Entertainment / Netflix

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory takes place six years after “The Nublar Six” became stranded on Isla Nublar, and, as such, finds itself set between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). Dinosaurs are now roaming around mainland North America after escaping Lockwood Manor in Northern California, which, naturally, poses some new threats.

Here’s the initial teaser that dropped last November, which only confirmed the return of Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams):

The first official trailer confirmed the return of Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone):

Now, the new trailer for Chaos Theory confirms the return of Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula, Kenji Kon, and Sammy Gutierrez, with Kausar Mohammed, Ryan Potter, and Raini Rodriguez, respectively, reprising their roles. But there’s one character (and actor) who’s missing:

The new trailer gives us a lot more to sink our teeth into, but let’s address the Stegosaurus in the room: Brooklynn, who was voiced by Jenna Ortega in all five seasons of Camp Cretaceous.

While the pink-haired teen vlogger was missing from the first two trailers and is nowhere to be seen in the description or the marketing for the show, we now have confirmation of her return. Which is more than we can say about Jenna Ortega.

The trailer opens with Brooklynn, now a few years older, sending a distress message via video (in true vlogger fashion, of course) to her fellow Nublar Six survivors, Darius, Kenji, Ben, Yaz and Sammy. But before she’s able to finish recording, she’s interrupted by a giant carnivorous dinosaur that emerges from the dark forest behind her.

Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega) in the 'Jurassic World: Chaos Theory' trailer — Credit: Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation / Amblin Entertainment / Netflix

Unfortunately, both Deadline and Entertainment Weekly (EW) have confirmed that Jenna Ortega is no longer part of the Jurassic World franchise. Deadline says “we’ve confirmed she [Jenna Ortega] will not be returning for the new series” and EW says “Jenna Ortega will not return to her character for Chaos Theory.”

While no reason has been given, this is likely to do with the fact that Jenna Ortega’s schedule has gotten far too busy over the past year or so (she’s reprising her role in Wednesday Season 2 and will star in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024) later this year, for starters).

The star’s name also doesn’t appear in the cast list on Netflix, and we can’t imagine the streaming service giant forgetting to include a name with such weight.

It’s also worth noting that Brooklynn doesn’t sound like the Wednesday (2022) star in the new trailer. Either way, it’s probably a good idea to get used to seeing our favorite Jurassic characters being recast.

Should any of the legacy characters from the films show up in Chaos Theory, such as Owen Grady, Claire Dearing, Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm, they probably won’t be voiced by the actors who play them on the big screen.

Darius Bowman in the 'Jurassic World: Chaos Theory' trailer — Credit: Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation / Amblin Entertainment / Netflix

With all that said, as the trailer suggests, Brooklynn will still be a huge focal point of the story in the series, with the remaining five members of The Nublar Six setting out to find her. The synopsis on Netflix doesn’t allude to this, but we find it hard to believe that the Jurassic World franchise would kill off a main character, especially one of the Jurassic kids.

Here’s the synopsis for Chaos Theory:

Set six years after the events at Camp Cretaceous, members of “The Nublar Six” are struggling to find their footing off the islands, navigating a world now filled with dinosaurs and people who want to hurt them.

Reunited in the wake of a tragedy, the group comes together only to find themselves on the run and catapulted into a global adventure to unravel a conspiracy that threatens dinosaur and humankind alike and finally learn the truth about what happened to one of their own.

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory stars Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula), Ryan Potter (Kenji Kon), and Raini Rodriguez (Sammy Gutierrez). It streams on Netflix on May 24.

Camp Cretaceous seasons 1 — 5 and the interactive adventure experience Hidden Adventure are now streaming on Netflix.

Are you excited about Chaos Theory? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!