Why Jurassic World Dominion Is Bringing Back Alan Grant & Ellie Sattler

One of the many exciting elements featured in the Jurassic World Dominion trailer is the return of paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler. Alan and Ellie, played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern respectively, first appeared in the 1993 classic Jurassic Park as two scientists who visit John Hammond’s dinosaur theme park to determine if it’s safe, only to quickly discover otherwise. The iconic pair helped make Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park such a beloved classic, but why have they come back for the final installment in the Jurassic World trilogy?

In the second movie in the Jurassic World series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) fail to prevent dinosaurs from escaping captivity. Some of these dinosaurs were auctioned to companies around the world, while others were released onto the U.S. mainland. Jurassic World Dominion takes place four years later as humanity still tries to deal with the consequences.

With the kind of global chaos that will open Jurassic World Dominion, it makes sense to want dinosaur experts like Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler nearby. Owen, Claire, and the rest will not only need to strategize how they might contain so many dangerous creatures, but also how to track them all down in the first place. Without practical knowledge of different dinosaur species’ habits, preferences, and weaknesses, this task would be nearly impossible. Alan and Ellie are perhaps the most qualified people to handle the job, for they not only contain a comprehensive understanding of dinosaurs from years of study, but they have also encountered live ones face-to-face in the past. Both of their previous hands-on experience will likely prove invaluable in Jurassic World Dominion. The trailer does not reveal whether Owen and Claire reach out to them at first or not, but it does show Ellie tracking down Alan to encourage him to help out however they can.

Nostalgia also probably played a part in the decision to bring back the two of them for Jurassic World Dominion. Alan and Ellie’s return allows for the fun mix of old and new characters spanning the decades of Jurassic Park films. The final movie in the series is the best time to get the original group back together, since Jurassic World Dominion is not only concluding the story that began with the first Jurassic World installment, but also calling back to the start of the franchise in 1993. Alan and Ellie’s inclusion—in addition to Jeff Goldblum’s return as Ian Malcolm—may even entice fans of the original Jurassic Park movie enough to come to the theater for this one, regardless of their opinions on some of the newer installments.

Jurassic World Dominion is finally reuniting the original Jurassic Park crew by bringing back Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler. If the rest of the movie follows this pattern, then Dominion will be including all of the best parts of Jurassic Park as the perfect send-off for the entire series. Hopefully, Alan and Ellie will be able to use their skills to help stop the world from cloning dinosaurs — for good this time.

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