Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum All Returning for ‘Jurassic World 3’

Jurassic World is bringing back some fan-favorite characters for Jurassic World 3. The film’s official Twitter account announced that Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum are all returning as Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm for the latest installment in the franchise, set to open in theaters in 2021.

They will appear next to stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, with Colin Trevorrow back to direct. Production stars early next year, according to Deadline.

Dern, Neill and Goldblum all originated their roles in the 1993 blockbuster that ignited a series that to date has grossed a cumulative total in excess of $5 billion globally, and broadened into video games, toys, novels, animated LEGO series and theme park attractions.

Dern reprised her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler and Neill reprised his as Dr. Alan Grant in 2001’s Jurassic Park III. Goldblum reprised his role as Ian Malcolm in 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and again in 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Trevorrow and Dern revealed Dern, Neill and Goldblum’s involvement in the film at a fan screening at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood Tuesday night of Jurassic World and Battle at Big Rock, an eight-minute short film direct by Trevorrow featuring dinosaurs running amuck after they’ve escaped to the real world. The last Jurassic World ended with the beasts finding their way off the island and into civilization, so Battle at Big Rock could very well be where the next Jurassic World is headed.

At the event, a fan asked Trevorrow if the original cast of Jurassic Park would be returning for Jurassic World 3. The director responded “yes” and introduced Dern to the shocked audience. What’s more is that he confirmed she will have a “major role” in the film rather than her brief cameo in Jurassic Park III.

Trevorrow and Steven Spielberg will return as executive producers, while Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley are producing. Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim Uprising, The Black Hole) penned the Jurassic World 3 screenplay with Trevorrow, working off a story by Derek Connolly and Trevorrow, who together wrote Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Jurassic World 3 opens June 11, 2021.