‘Jurassic Park’ Franchise To Recast Iconic Leads in TV Series and Future Installments

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L to R: Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) at the raptor pit in 'Jurassic Park'

Credit: Universal Pictures

As marketing for the upcoming film Jurassic World Rebirth (2025), directed by Gareth Edwards (2014’s Godzilla) and starring Scarlett Johansson (Zora Bennett), Mahershala Ali (Duncan Kincaid), and Jonathan Bailey (Henry Loomis), ramps up, Jurassic Park fans are curious to see how the franchise will continue to evolve—at least on the big screen.

On the smaller screen, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 3, the follow-up to Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020—2022), has already pushed Jurassic into new territory.

While Season 3 forms very close ties with Jurassic World Dominion (2022), overlapping with major events depicted in the latest film and pitting its characters against familiar dinosaurs, human villains, and exotic locations, it still marks a bold new direction for the animated side of the franchise in the same way that Rebirth will launch a “new Jurassic era.”

Scarlett Johansson in red light in 'Jurassic World Rebirth'
Credit: Universal Pictures

However, one of the most surprising things about Season 3 is that it brings back pivotal characters from Dominion and previous films: Biosyn CEO Lewis Dodgson, Raptor trainer-turned-French CIA agent Barry Sembène, and dinosaur black market dealer Soyona Santos.

Frustratingly, while you can hear Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady in the background, no main characters are anywhere to be seen—despite all of them appearing in the 2022 film.

But this doesn’t mean that Chaos Theory won’t introduce Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Owen Grady, Claire Dearing, and Maisie Lockwood, (who are played in the films by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Isabella Sermon, respectively), all of whom are yet to make their animated debut, in the future.

L to R: Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) encountering the Giganotosaurus in 'Jurassic World Dominion'
Credit: Universal Pictures

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The Season 3 finale ends on a cliffhanger, with Kenji Kon (Darren Barnet) and Sammy Gutierrez (Raini Rodriguez) arriving at Biosyn Valley, the dinosaur and legacy character-filled jungle setting for the second half of Jurassic World Dominion, while Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams), Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone), Yasmina Fadoula (Kausar Mohammed), and Brooklynn (Kiersten Kelly) simultaneously heading there by helicopter.

This sets the stage for a pretty epic fourth season, as the characters’ time at Biosyn Valley will presumably overlap chronologically with Dominion, per preceding events, which means that the likes of Darius and Brooklynn will probably end up meeting—or at the very least, coming close to—Alan, Ellie, Ian, Owen, Claire, and Maisie. But don’t get too excited just yet.

L to R: Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing facing the Giganotosaurus in 'Jurassic World Dominion'
Credit: Universal Pictures

Related: New ‘Jurassic World’ Sequel Kills off Major Character, Leaves Fans Shocked

Will Season 4 Feature Any Main Jurassic Park Characters?

Chaos Theory Season 4—which is yet to be announced by Netflix or Universal Pictures—will likely recast these characters, which should come as no surprise.

Between Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory, the animated side of the Jurassic franchise has already recast Henry Wu, Lewis Dodgson, Barry Sembène, who are played in the films by BD Wong, Campbell Scott (Dominion), and Omar Sy, respectively. In the Netflix shows, they’re voiced by Gren Chun, Adam Harrington, and Evan Michael Lee, respectively.

Typically, actors rarely reprise their roles in animated projects. All the main Jurassic film stars—with the exception of Isabella Sermon (Maisie Lockwood)—are Hollywood A-listers. As such, it’s unlikely they’d come back for an animated series. Although it does happen from time to time—after all, Dichen Lachman reprised her role as Soyona Santos in Chaos Theory.

Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman) in the 'Jurassic World: Chaos Theory' Season 3' trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation / Amblin Entertainment / Netflix

Not only that, but Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Dallas Howard, and BD Wong returned to provide their voices for Ian Malcolm, Claire Dearing, and Henry Wu, respectively, in the hugely successful 2018 park management simulation video game “Jurassic World Evolution” (Goldblum and Dearing also returned for the equally popular 2021 sequel).

Now, a third “Jurassic World Evolution” is in the works, as well as a first-person action-adventure game titled “Jurassic Park: Survival”. Whether any actors from the films will reprise their roles in one or both of these projects remains to be seen, however, it’s likely any returning characters—as the animated shows have proven—will be voiced by new actors.

With that said, we’d hedge our bets that Isabella Sermon will return (here’s to hoping).

Gallimimus stampeding over a jungle explorer in the 'Jurassic Park: Survival' game trailer
Credit: Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment / Saber Interactive

Where Can I Watch Chaos Theory Season 3?

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. It stars Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula), Darren Barnet (Kenji Kon), Raini Rodriguez (Sammy Gutierrez), Kiersten Kelly (Brooklynn), and Dichen Lachman (Soyona Santos).

Watch the trailer below:

What About Jurassic World Rebirth?

Jurassic World Rebirth releases in theaters on July 2. The film stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).

Watch the trailer below:

Have you watched Chaos Theory Season 3 yet? Let us know in the comments down below!

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