If you've been a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise for as long as I've been, then you might have noticed a reoccurring pattern throughout the films of the series. Jurassic Park; a film about the adventures of a paleontologist, his paleontologist gal, and two kids going up against the prehistoric monsters we loved seeing on the big screen for the first time. Jurassic Park: The Lost World; a lot like the first film, but this time with one kid, a Tyrannosaurus, and its kid wrecking havoc throughout San Diego. Jurassic Park 3; yet another kid in the mix, good old Dr. Alan Grant is back, so it's all good, or so we though. Well now we're getting our first cast announcement for Jurassic World and it it seems they'll be keeping into the trend of keeping around young characters, as we have twelve year old Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3, Insidious) officially joining Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) in the film, as well as Nick Robinson (Kings of Summer) up to play his brother, and Josh Brolin (Oldboy) eyeing a key lead role.
Deadline has reported the Simpkins' has joined the cast of Jurassic World, making him the second official cast member alongside Bryce Dallas Howard. Simpkins' is well known for his portrayal of Dalton in James Wan's
Insidious films, as well as most recently in a supporting role in
Iron Man 3 as a young boy who befriends Tony Stark in Tennessee.
The Hollywood Reporter has also brought news that Nick Robinson is also in talks for a role in the film, which will be the older brother of Simpkins' character. Nick Robinson is well known for his role on ABC Family's
Melissa and Joey, but recently has risen to fame thanks to his lead role in this year's indie film
Kings of the Summer, in which his performance was highly praised by critics.
But what does the addition of young Ty and Nick equal; yet another sibling duo. One problem we will consistently see with brother duos in film or just siblings in general is the whole 'one sibling being in control while the other is defiant, but push come to shove they love each other' cliché. Can
Jurassic World work its way around these problems? They possibly can, but director Colin Trevorrow needs to round out a large and talented adult cast to bring good balance to film's different sets of characters, similar to how the original
Jurassic Park handled the situation back in the day.
With young actors being added to the cast, it seems as though we will likely have regions of the movie that will be less aggressive than they would have been if the actors were slightly older. But on the topic of older actors, fans shouldn't be too alarmed by the recent younger cast additions as according to
Deadline, Josh Brolin (
Oldboy) is reportedly circling a lead role in the film. It's likely he'll be playing the role of a new paleontologist and have some sort of relation with Bryce Dallas Howard's character. Hell, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume he'll be playing the father of Simkins' and Robertson's brother duo, but that might be pushing it. None the less he'd be a strong cast addition, and with his schedule relatively clear now that he wasn't chosen as Zack Snyder's Bruce Wayne in
Superman Vs. Batman, we should be getting official confirmation of his casting some time soon.
But on a bit more of a sour note, to the disappointment of many fans rumor has it that this
Jurassic World may not be featuring any of the original's characters and actors, including fan favorites Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. While we can hope we'll be surprised by a few cameos from the original characters somewhere in the film, it will surely hurt the film if none of them are around for the adventure in
Jurassic World. Out of all the child stars in the past
Jurassic Park, I'd always thought the most promising was actor Joseph Mazzello (
The Social Network), and I would've loved to see him return in some form now that his character is much older. He could have offered the "returning" aspect of
Jurassic Park to
Jurassic World, and then opened up the playing field to other young actors and new characters.
There have been countless other rumored candidates for roles in Jurassic World, and the most recent name to be rumored for a part is Jake Johnson (
New Girl).
Deadline has reported that Johnson is "in the mix" for a part in the film, but while there's been no official word on whether the rumor is true or not, it isn't unlikely considering the fact that Johnson has previously worked with Colin Trevorrow on his directional debut
Safety Not Guaranteed. Other actors whose names have been thrown around are David Oyelowo (
Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Garrett Hedlund (
Tron: Legacy), who were rumored for parts back when Bryce Dallas Howard's name first came up before the film was delayed to 2015. While there's no word on whether either actor is in talks for a part in the film, Oyelowo has since been rumored to be up for a role in
Star Wars: Episode VII, and Hedlund has been cast in Angelina Jolie's next film
Unbroken, so both may have their schedules full at this point.
So what do you think of Simpkins, Brolin, and Robinson joining Jurassic World? Who else would you like to see in the film?
