With production kicking off in Hawaii next month before moving to New Orleans in June, many fans still have questions regarding what exactly to expect from Colin Trevorrow‘s Jurassic World. We know it won’t be a reboot, rather a real-time continuation of the story in the first three films, but what does that mean for returning characters? According to a recent interview, don’t expect many familiar faces — except one.
Sitting down with IGN, the director revealed the sole returning (human) character we can expect to see, after talking about why the others won’t be making a return. “I know a lot of fans want to see the original characters back. They’re iconic. But I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons. Jurassic Park isn’t about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they’d go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go. But there is a character from the first film who makes sense in our world,” he said.”
He revealed, “This hasn’t been announced yet, but BD Wong will be returning as Dr. Henry Wu. He had a much larger role in the original novel, he was the engineer of this breakthrough in de-extinction. He spent two decades living in Hammond’s shadow, underappreciated. We think there’s more to his story.” As for our leads, he also opened up about the characters played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, saying the former is “a classic hero in a very modern context. He’s the guy who will get you through the jungle alive – but like Malcolm, Grant and Sattler, he’s an expert in a scientific field that’s connected to our story. The character allows us to explore some new ideas about our relationship with these animals, without losing the humor and sense of adventure.” He adds, that Pratt is a “great contrast for Howard’s character, who starts off very corporate, very controlled. Until the running and screaming starts. Then they need each other.”
While one should head over to the source to read more about how the film retain the spirit of the original, as well as his biggest challenge, he also expanded on a technical aspect of the production. As we know, the film will be shot partially in 65mm and the Safety Not Guaranteed director discussed the specifics. “We’re also using an aspect ratio that hasn’t been seen theatrically in a very long time. The movie will be presented in 2 to 1. It’s basically a middle ground between 2.35 and 1.85. It allows us enough height to fit humans and dinosaurs into a single frame, without giving up that sense of scope. It’s very close to the ratio of the digital IMAX screens, so it will look great in large format. I think other filmmakers will want to give it a try when they see how it looks. It’s very comfortable.”
Location scout. pic.twitter.com/Oc2IDYRh43
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) March 15, 2014
Also starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, and possibly Jake Johnson, Jurassic World arrives on June 12th, 2015.
What do you think of the return of Henry Wu? Are you looking forward to Pratt and Dallas Howard in the lead roles?