More than two decades after Jurassic Park captured the imagination of an entire generation of moviegoers, the classic sci-fi franchise is set to return in next summer’s Jurassic World. Universal is gearing up the marketing push for the film, having released a teaser trailer recently. Listeners of the Screen Rant Underground podcast will know that the reaction to the preview was mixed, but overall it did a solid job of setting up the new installment.
Much of the conversation about Jurassic World so far as been about the main story, which has the potential to be a nice dose of meta-commentary if handled correctly. Director Colin Trevorrow has already gone on record saying that the central conflict will stem from the general public being slightly disenchanted with a fully-operational dinosaur amusement park, which leads to the team of scientists resorting to drastic measures in order to regain their interest (much like how Trevorrow and his team need to reignite interest in the Jurassic Park property).
The trailer confirmed previously rumored aspects like the hybrid-dino and Chris Pratt the Raptor Whisperer, but now new details about Jurassic World have surfaced. In an interview with THR, actor Irrfan Khan spoke a little about his character and how the fourth film in the series will stand out from what came before.
We’ve known for some time that Khan would be portraying the park owner in Jurassic World, which was one of the topics the thespian touched on. Here’s what he had to say about the personality of his role:
“I’m playing the park owner, a very flamboyant person. He’s trying to entertain the world with good intentions, but sometimes being flamboyant doesn’t mean having much wisdom.”
Based on that description, it’d be easy to assume that Khan will essentially be this film’s version of John Hammond, the visionary who made dinosaur cloning a reality. Like Khan’s character, Hammond had a showmanship quality about him and spared no expense to guarantee the best experience possible for the park’s prospective visitors. However, that enthusiasm turned Hammond into a somewhat tragic figure, as he was unable to see the danger in bringing t-rexes back from the dead.
Of course, having a flamboyant leader isn’t the only similarity between Jurassic Parkand Jurassic World. Those who have seen the trailer know that the new movie is banking on the nostalgia factor and incorporating imagery from the original film in its marketing materials so far (the gate shot, brontosaurus, etc.). This has caused some to believe that World will be nothing more than a retread, but Khan stresses that isn’t the case.
When asked about the differences between the two, Khan explained how next year’s film fits in with modern society:
“For sure it will have more vibe. It’s the Jurassic World of these times, with all the technical experimentation. It has now become a fully-bloomed dinosaur amusement park. Dinosaurs in this film will definitely be scary, but this is not a horror film, so it will be like a scary adventure.”
Arguably, the park displayed in the first Jurassic Park wasn’t all that far from becoming the fully-bloomed attraction we’ll see in Jurassic World, as it only needed the approval of a handful of scientists before getting off the ground. However, the fact that Jurassic World has been open for years is a new and interesting angle for the filmmakers to play with. The “technical experimentation” Khan refers to should be something audiences relate to, since companies are constantly offering new products and gadgets to keep customer interested in their brand.
While the overall arc of Jurassic World doesn’t seem so unique on the surface when compared to the previous films, there’s enough there so far to keep us intrigued. We all know that the dinosaurs will come out to play when it’s all said and done, so as long as the “scary adventure” is punctuated by strong substance like a critique of the modern-day consumer and the lengths executives go to to bring in high profits, this will be a ride worth taking.
Jurassic World will be in theaters June 12, 2015.
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