Summary

Jonathan Bailey's character in Jurassic World Rebirth shouldn't be linked to Alan Grant from Jurassic Park.
Avoiding connections to the original characters in Jurassic World Rebirth is crucial for audience accessibility.
The focus of Jurassic World Rebirth should be on creating a new story, not relying on nostalgia from the past films.

Jurassic World Rebirth is a highly anticipated movie, the seventh installment in the wider Jurassic Park franchise. However, with a brand-new cast being brought in from the previous Jurassic World movies, many see this film as a fresh start for the franchise and an opportunity to give it a new lease of life at the same time.

We have limited information about the movie ahead of its July 2, 2025, release. Mutated dinosaurs are expected to cause terror. Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali will take up the lead roles. There have been many promising signs that lead people to believe Jurassic World Rebirth will be a hit. But there is one important mistake that this movie must not make if it's going to stand on its own.

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By Fletcher Bailey

Jonathan Bailey's Character Doesn't Need To Connect To Jurassic Park's Alan Grant

The Jurassic World Rebirth Star Has Hinted It Might Happen

Bailey will be a key part of Jurassic World Rebirth, as he plays a paleontologist called Dr. Henry Loomis. The aesthetic of his character instantly led people to think he could have a connection to Alan Grant, one of the main characters of the original Jurassic Park movie. However, that's not something that needs to happen. In fact, it could actually derail the movie's purpose if it happens and isn't handled well.

Fans are coming into this one thinking it's a new starting point, which opens it up nicely for those who haven't seen the original movie. Therefore, keeping them separate would allow Jurassic World Rebirth to feel more accessible to new audiences. On top of that, connecting the two characters would instantly lead to many comparisons between them, which puts a lot of pressure on Bailey's performance to make him feel different and still just as important.

Unfortunately, there is a distinct possibility that Bailey's character will have some form of connection to Grant, because the Wicked actor has already hinted at it. He told Vanity Fair:

I've always wanted to make Dr. Alan Grant proud. You'll have to wait and see to see what sort of link there is between them.

However, making this link a reality would be handcuffing the new character immediately, giving everyone involved a mountain to climb from the start.

Dr. Henry Loomis Is Already Going To Be Compared To Alan Grant

The Similarities Should Be Enough Without Overriding Jurassic World Rebirth

Given Loomis' appearance and occupation, the comparisons to Grant are already going to happen, but that doesn't mean they have to be driven with a clear connection. In the latest Star Wars trilogy, Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron were similar to Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. Similarly, Jurassic World Rebirth should keep the comparisons at face value. Giving Loomis a tangible connection to Grant, whether through family reasons or something else, would instantly have people thinking about the original movie. It's going to be very hard to top that. Therefore, trying not to push comparisons when they're not needed would be wiser.

There will always be similar themes to the original as the story continues to some degree. But that doesn't mean the 1993 movie needs to have fingerprints all over Jurassic World Rebirth. It would become overbearing to have too many references to the past, and having Loomis connect to Grant would lead to that. Audiences would also be expecting Sam Neill to appear in some form to push that, and if that doesn't happen, then it provides a moment of disappointment for no real reason.

Jurassic World Rebirth Needs To Focus On The Future, Not The Past

The Nostalgia Moments Have Already Taken Place

Scarlet Johannson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World_ Rebirth

After three Jurassic Park films and a Jurassic World trilogy, this movie has the difficult task of standing out and providing viewers with something genuinely different from what they have seen before. That's not an easy feat to accomplish, as there's only so much that can be done with dinosaurs. However, it must try to be different and unique for it to have a purpose. Otherwise, it will come across as a cheap cash grab due to the franchise's popularity. The film must have its own voice and tone, with the clue being in the title itself. This movie is supposed to refresh the movie series and move it forward in a new direction, but that's not going to be possible if it's handcuffed to the original characters.

When the decision was made to first bring this franchise back with 2015's Jurassic World, there were always going to be connections needed to the original movies. After all, nostalgic films have proven popular in the last decade, with the likes of Star Wars and Indiana Jones all returning with old-school characters. However, fans now have nostalgic moments, with similar scenes giving winks to what happened before. Jeff Goldblum was even brought back for Jurassic World Dominion, but given that it gained a 29% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it's clear that focusing on past characters doesn't guarantee quality. Connecting Loomis to Grant might smile at fans of the original, but ultimately, it serves no real purpose to the Jurassic World Rebirth story. It's an idea that is best left alone.