Sam Neill Won’t Visit Jurassic World When It Begins Filming In June

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

dr. alan grantWith the upcoming Jurassic World, Universal hopes that their familiar franchise finds a new audience. Let’s face it, while we think all of these new movies are for fans of the series, they’re really for movie studios to find young and new fans to build a bigger base. Director Colin Trevorrow has even said that though Jurassic World will be a new entry in the series, it will also honor what came before it. That said, we want to know if the upcoming film will feature characters from previous Jurassic Park movies. According to one of the franchise’s stars, no, it won’t.

As reported on Sciencefiction.com, actor Sam Neill has no plans to visit Jurassic World. While the 66-year-old actor doesn’t rule out a cameo, it’s unlikely that the new film would want to feature any old faces to distract from the newer cast. Neill explained:

Look, you never say no. I think there’s a whole new cast and a whole new look at things, and I think that’s great. As I said, I’d never say no, but I wish them… well, I’m sure it’s going to be great, but they don’t need me.

Neill played Dr. Alan Grant in 1993’s Jurassic Park. He later reprised his role for Jurassic Park III, along with a small cameo from Laura Dern, for director Joe Johnston. While it would be really cool to see Grant as the head of dinosaur research at the new Jurassic World theme park, it’s unlikely that we will see his charming and confident face.

As for production, Jurassic World is scheduled to start shooting in Louisiana on June 2nd. The new dinosaur adventure will also film in Hawaii and Costa Rica, while using familiar locations from the first film, namely Site A on Isla Nublar.

Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) is still in negotiations to play the lead, but it looks really close to being official. If cast, Pratt would join Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, and Nick Robinson, and play the father of the film’s central family. While plot details are few, director Trevorrow insists that Jurassic World is not a reboot, but rather a continuation of what came before.

Jurassic World takes place some 20 years after the events of the original movie. The new film is rumored to take place at a fully operational water theme park featuring various aquatic dinosaurs — hence Jurassic World, mirroring the popular SeaWorld marine parks. It is believed that a new aquatic dinosaur is introduced to the park, but soon breaks free and wreaks havoc on tourists.

Trevorrow co-wrote the screenplay with his writing partner, Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed), taking over work on Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) original screenplay. Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg will continue to produce, while Kathleen Kennedy dropped out to focus her attention on Star Wars: Episode VII for Disney and Lucasfilm.

Jurassic World hits theaters everywhere on June 12, 2015, in 3D and IMAX.