One of the biggest movies last year was Jurassic World, which had the highest domestic total for most of the year, until Star Wars: The Force Awakens started shattering box office records. The movie was set 23 years after the events of the original blockbuster Jurassic Park, although only one character from the original, B.D. Wong's Dr. Henry Wu, returned for this sequel. With production starting on Jurassic World 2 in early 2017, hopefully we'll hear about casting news soon, but today we have word that original Jurassic Park star Sam Neill will not be back for this Jurassic World sequel as Dr. Alan Grant.

Over the weekend, Sam Neill confirmed that he will be reuniting with original Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum and his The Hunt For the Wilderpeople director Taika Waititi on the Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel Thor: Ragnarok. During an interview with Short List that surfaced on YouTube, the actor was asked if there is any chance that his iconic Jurassic Park character, Dr. Alan Grant, will be back for this sequel. Here's what he had to say below.

"I think the problem is that no one knows where Alan Grant is anymore. He's retired from paleontology. He's sick to death of dinosaurs and running. He's not quite as fleet of foot as he was, and he's now retired to Dayton, Ohio, and has a very successful accountancy business. I think that's what's happened to Alan. Either that or he's dead."

Last month, Jurassic World 2 director Juan Antonio Bayona confirmed that Jurassic World 2 will be the second installment of a new trilogy. While Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is not coming back to direct, he did co-write the script with his Jurassic World co-writer Derek Connolly, and he will also produce with Steven Spielberg. Colin Trevorrow is currently working on the highly-anticipated Star Wars: Epiode IX, which is slated for release sometime in 2019.

Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are expected to return, although no other cast members have been confirmed quite yet. Earlier reports have revealed that this sequel will go off the Isla Nublar Island, and may feature "weaponized dinosaurs." Universal has set a June 22, 2018 release date for Jurassic World 2, which is currently sandwiched between Pixar's Toy Story 4 on June 15, 2018 and an untitled Fox/Marvel movie and an untitled DreamWorks Animation/Blue Sky film on July 29, 2018. Take a look at Sam Neill's video interview below, and skip to the 3:50 mark for his comments on Jurassic World 2.