JURASSIC WORLD 3 Sets Nostalgia Throttle To Maximum As Neill, Goldblum, Dern Return

The Jurassic World movies have played hard into nostalgia so far. Between the first film's literal trip back to the site of the original film, the sequel's elevation of minor Jurassic Park character Henry Wu to principal villain, and the franchise's continued existence itself, Universal has relied on audiences' fondness for the 1993 movie to sell tickets. That gambit has generally paid off. But even as the third film in the new trilogy ventures into potentially new narrative territory, the memory train has to keep chugging along.

Enter Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern, who have all signed on to reprise their roles of Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, and Ellie Satler in the upcoming third Jurassic World film. All three have reprised their roles before: Goldblum and Neill, of course, took leading roles in The Lost World and Jurassic Park III, respectively, while Dern cameoed in III and Goldblum followed suit in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. They'll be directed by returning helmer Colin Trevorrow (replacing J.A. Bayona, whose direction managed to elevate Fallen Kingdom into something enjoyable), from a script by Trevorrow and Pacific Rim: Uprising co-writer (and prolific, Sundance-approved short filmmaker) Emily Carmichael.

It's unclear at this stage what kind of role the three actors will play in the new film. Presumably, they'll play supporting roles at most, given the new trilogy's continued commitment to the paper-thin and actively irritating characters played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Maybe Owen and Claire will improve in the presence of the characters Spielberg and his cast gave unlikely depth in the original film. Maybe not.

Jurassic World 3, which will almost definitely receive a subtitle, is set for release on June 21, 2021.