Life has, uh, found a way to make Jurassic Park fans very happy. Jurassic World 2 is currently filming and, if you weren't already excited about the next installment in the franchise, you probably should be. Why, may you ask? Well, because Jeff Goldblum is officially returning in Jurassic World 2 as Dr. Ian Malcolm.
The Hollywood Reporter has broke the news that Universal has officially managed to get Jeff Goldblum to reprise his iconic role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in the upcoming Jurassic World sequel, which is set for release next summer. Unfortunately, their report wasn't able to confirm anything in the way of how large his role will be or how exactly he will factor into the story of Jurassic World 2, but having him back will definitely help get butts in seats. Jurassic World did exceedingly well at the box office but, outside of B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, none of the original cast members returned for the fourth installment of the franchise. So it will be great to see Jeff Goldblum back, managing the chaos.
Originally appearing in Steven Spielberg's 1993 original classic, Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm quickly became one of the most beloved elements of the Jurassic Park franchise. He reprised the role only once in the first sequel, The Lost World, in 1997. He, Sam Neill and Laura Dern have all played their respective roles twice in the franchise. So with Jeff Goldblum returning for a third run, he will be the only main cast member to do so. However, Laura Dern did recently say that she wanted to come back as Ellie Sattler for the final installment of the Jurassic Park series, so that could still happen, since Universal intends to do at least one more movie after Jurassic World 2.
Official plot details have not yet been shared by Universal or anyone involved with the production of Jurassic World 2. We do know that the movie will include more practical dinosaurs this time around and that the world will be dealing with the fallout of what happened in Jurassic World, as well as trying to figure out what to do with the animals, now that the whole world knows about them. It has also been said that this movie will be scarier and darker than Jurassic World, and that it won't just be dinosaurs chasing humans around on an island. The movie is also said to serve as a parable for how we treat animals in the real world. There is also rumored to be some kind of rescue mission taking place, but it sounds like this time it will be humans rescuing dinos, instead of the other way around.
Jurassic World 2 is being directed by J.A. Bayona with a script from Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. In addition to Jeff Goldblum, the movie also stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, B.D. Wong, James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda and Gwendoline Chaplin. Jurassic World 2 is set for release on June 22, 2018.