Credit: Universal PicturesThe upcoming Jurassic World movie just added yet another new cast member.
No actors from the previous Jurassic installments are expected to return for Jurassic World 4 (2025), the upcoming seventh movie in the franchise that started in 1993 with Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster, but its new cast is shaping up to be equally star-studded.
Scarlett Johansson (the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), and Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi) will be stepping in to take over from Chris Pratt (Owen Grady), Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), and Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm).
Mahershala Ali (Leave the World Behind) is also expected to star in the new film.
But while it was recently reported by Variety that the film, set for release next summer, will be “a completely fresh take launching a new Jurassic era, following three adults and three teens getting stuck on the island,” we still don’t know much about the actual plot.
However, that logline does suggest that the seventh film in the series will maintain one of many long-running Jurassic traditions by introducing young characters into the mix.
Related: All 4 Upcoming ‘Jurassic Park’/’Jurassic World’ Sequels Explained
Jurassic Park (1993) introduced John Hammond’s grandchildren, Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards) and Tim Murphy (Joe Mazzello) — and really put them through hell where dinosaurs are concerned. They remain the most beloved young characters in the series.
However, Lex and Tim only returned for a brief cameo in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which saw Ian Malcolm’s daughter Kelly Malcolm (Vanessa Lee Chester) go face to face with dinosaurs instead (she’s loosely based on Kelly Curtis from the 1995 novel).
In Jurassic Park III (2001), Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) was stranded alone on Site B/Isla Sorna, but 14 years later, Jurassic World (2015) reinstated the two-child-act with brothers Zach Mitchell (Nick Robinson) and Gray Mitchell (Ty Simpkins).
Then, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) really shook things up with the franchise’s first human clone Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), who returned as the only child-character in the latest sequel, Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
There are also the young characters from the Netflix animated shows Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022) and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024): Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams), Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone), Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula (Kausar Mohammed), Kenji Kon (Ryan Potter/Darren Barnet), Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega/Kiersten Kelly), and Sammy Gutierrez (Raini Rodriguez).
In fact, while we’re on the subject of non-live-action characters from the wider franchise, there are also the “Jurassic Park” (1990) novel versions of Lex Murphy and Tim Murphy, and the characters Arby Benton and Kelly Curtis from “The Lost World” (1995).
There are plenty of young characters elsewhere in the franchise, across all forms of tie-in media from comic books to video games and beyond.
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Official Sequel: Everything We Know
Now, in addition to Jurassic World 4‘s adult cast members, three new young talents have joined the fold: Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), and, per The Hollywood Reporter, Audrina Miranda (Dancing With the Stars and Lopez vs Lopez).
Child star Miranda hardly fits the bill of “teen”, but she’s still among the latest in a long line of “‘Jurassic kids,” for the lack of a better term (although it’s possible the logline isn’t entirely accurate and that Miranda will indeed make up one third of the three young characters).
Three Jurassic kids is also the most any movie has had.
No details about the characters they’re playing have been revealed, but we think it’s reasonable to assume that they aren’t at any risk whatsoever of ending up on the dinosaurs’ menu — in the Jurassic Park/World franchise, children are pretty much invincible.
Jurassic World 4 is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla 2014, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, The Lost World), produced by Patrick Cowley and Frank Marshall (the Jurassic World trilogy), and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg (director of the first two films and EP on the last four).
The film will be released in theaters on July 2, 2025.
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