Having worked with dinosaurs in several movies of theJurassic Parkfranchise, OG starsLaura Dern,Jeff Goldblum, andSam Neillhave each revealed which dinosaur is their personal favorite. Despite there being many different breeds of prehistoric beasts to choose from, it seems that one particular dinosaur from the original movie really resonated with two of the stars that encountered it.
Jurassic Park
Reminiscing about their time in the franchise, the stars ofJurassic Park, who returned to being potential dino-fodder again in 2022’sJurassic World: Dominion, spoke toEmpireabout all things dino in a special anniversary edition of the magazine. Having appeared on-screen with actual dinosaurs created by special effects legend Stan Winston, the one dinosaur that really seems to have endeared itself to both Dern and Goldblum was the sick Triceratops encountered by the group while on their initial tour of the park. Dern said:
“You know what, it’s the Triceratops. She had the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen. And it was so easy to act with her, to pet her and take care of her. I want a Triceratops for my front yard. I’d ride it around, ride it to the market.”
Goldblum also named the “Trike” as the one dinosaur that really stood out for him when he saw the full puppet on set. He said:
“Mine is the Triceratops, too. The first time we were taken to the set, you couldn’t even really see the people operating it – for all the world it was like you’d come upon this thing and boy, it looked like a real dinosaur. It took me back to a memory of this book I read as a kid in Pittsburgh about a youngster who finds a great big egg in his backyard. And it hatches and it’s a baby Triceratops and it becomes the subject of much celebration in the neighborhood. Then he finally winds up going to Washington DC and becoming famous. That caught my imagination as a kid, so seeing that Triceratops in Hawaii, it’s still one of my favorite memories.”
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Neill chose a different dinosaur as his favorite, one that was a little more deadly than the stricken Triceratops. He said:
“I like the little chicken ones that eat Nedry. They’re deeply unpleasant. I’ve got chickens on my farm, but they’re not nearly as malign. Except when they see the duck – then they turn into nasty little buggers.”
It is not clear whether Neill is actually referring to the Dilophosaur that dispatches Nedry inJurassic Park, and the pack that finishes off the devious Dodgson inJurassic World: Dominion, or the Compsognathus that first show their teeth inThe Lost World. Either way, Neill’s tastes are clearly a little different to his former costars.
Jurassic World 4 is Set to Reboot the Franchise Again
TheJurassic Parkfranchise seemed to have reached its end withJurassic Park IIIin 2001, as the movie didn’t deliver the same level of enthusiasm as its predecessors, and really seemed to suffer for not having a source novel to play with.
Jurassic Park IIIfinally used the Pterodactyl aviary scene from Michael Crichton’s original novel as one of its stand-out scenes.
However, after successfully rebooting the franchise in 2015 withJurassic World, it became clear that the franchise was still as popular as ever. Now, after two further movies,Gareth Edwards is taking the helm ofJurassic World 4, which has already set a release date of July 17, 2025. Although there has been no official word on who will star in the new movie, it is believed that this will be a clean slate for the franchise, withrumors currently suggesting Scarlett Johansson is in talks to play the lead.
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When announcing the sequel, Edwards couldn’t suppress his delight to step into theJurassicfranchise, telling the press:
“I was about to take a break and I started writing my next idea for a film and this is the only movie that would make me drop everything like a stone and dive right in. I love Jurassic Park. I think the first movie is a cinematic masterpiece… so this opportunity is like a dream to me. And to work with Frank Marshall and Universal and David Koepp, who’s writing that script, I think they’re all legends. So I’m just very excited.”
Jurassic World 4will be released in cinemas on June 20, 2025. You can find the originalJurassic Parkstreaming on Netflix.
