Jurassic World: Why Henry Wu Is Really A Villain

Evidence suggests Henry Wu is an actual movie villain in the expansive Jurassic World franchise. Old habits die hard, so it is difficult to tell if the famed Jurassic Park scientist continues to have ulterior motives during the Universal Studios series. Granted, there seems to be more behind this brilliant man than the tumultuous dinosaur theme park.

Played by B.D. Wong, Dr. Henry Wu became the proud scientist responsible for creating the first cloned dinosaurs in 1993’s Jurassic Park. Wu’s title was the chief genetic engineer to the park’s company InGen, a point of pride for college graduate. While being introduced initially as intelligent and eager, the doctor descended into a dangerous egomaniac by the events of Jurassic World. Over twenty years since he debuted the first engineered dinosaurs for the park, the scientist has since voiced issues with his ultimate creation.

Without a doubt, Jurassic World shows that Henry Wu is a villain to the core. Originally, Jurassic Park portrayed Wu as a lead scientist, but he rose to one of the main antagonists in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Unquestionably, there was a reason behind the great variety and number of dinosaurs in Jurassic World‘s parks. The real cause has been the geneticist Henry Wu. Looking back, Jurassic World conveyed Henry Wu as a man who thought little of the deaths he caused with the Indominus rex dinosaur hybrid. This act clarifies his heartlessness. Mr. Wu is the true arch-villain in the Jurassic World franchise over former ally Victor Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio) because of Wu’s ability to persevere. Simply put, the character has not died yet and is due for a final encounter.

Adding further to the supervillain argument is Henry Wu’s inflated ego. In fact, Mr. Wu was a young geneticist turned disgraced celebrity that lost the title of doctor. Wu was too devout to his work and had issues with his level of power. In Jurassic Park, Henry Wu’s genius was the spark that made the unprecedented amusement park happen. However, it was John Hammond’s dream that kept the experiment from going too far. Richard Attenborough’s Dr. Hammond had limits to what was right and wrong for Jurassic Park. Hence, Dr. Wu was following his boss’s orders, subdued by Hammond’s power. Now matured, no one stands in Henry Wu’s way.

Even Michael Crichton’s original Jurassic Park novel painted a picture of Dr. Henry Wu that was evil. Wu wanted to be recognized for recreating the first extinct life. Nonetheless, Dr. Wu was just a mad scientist playing god. This connection makes Wu more akin to another doctor villain, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a notoriously misunderstood antagonist. Both men had motivations beyond just creating life. The new chapter in the six-part Jurassic saga is 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion, which will see Wu’s story arc come full circle. With Henry Wu a clear villain in the Jurassic World series, the entire franchise has slowly but surely culminated in an ultimate battle for morality.

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