Jurassic World 3: Laura Dern Shares Her Excitement at Returning to Play Ellie Sattler

With the upcoming Jurassic World 3 set to see the return of Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler for the first time since 2001's Jurassic Park III, the actress recently shared her excitement at the opportunity, due in large part to how much the character has meant not only to her, but also the fans. Dern won't be the only star of the original film returning for the upcoming installment, as co-stars Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum will also be returning, with recent additions to the franchise Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard once again starring. Jurassic World 3 is set to land in theaters on June 11, 2021.

"I love Ellie Sattler and I have grown up with her alongside me," Dern revealed to IMDb. "[There are] so many children, and particularly young women, who idolized and felt she was sort of one of their first feminist, badass action characters. I love the idea of seeing where she is now."

Dern, Neill, and Goldblum all starred in the original film, while its first sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, only saw the return of Goldblum. Neill returned for Jurassic Park III as the protagonist and, while Dern only briefly appeared in that film, she played a crucial part in its narrative.

With Jurassic World coming more than a decade after the last film in the franchise, the original cast was absent, other than B.D. Wong. With Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Goldblum returned for a cameo. Fans had been hoping we'd get to see a return for Ellie Sattler, with director Trevorrow having expressed his enthusiasm at the idea for years.

"We felt like this was [Ian] Malcolm's return… this was his… let him have his moment," Trevorrow shared with MTV's Seen It, Spill It in 2018. "I feel that way about everyone, especially Laura … she never got to have her own movie. That identified as being something that's important. We just wanted to put the spotlight on [Goldblum]."

While the new film is assuredly the third in the Jurassic World trilogy, Trevorrow previously revealed that it is also absolutely Jurassic Park 6.

"We'd have had to come up with a reason why Ellie, Malcolm, and Grant all went to the theme park on the exact same day it broke down – again," Trevorrow previously confirmed to Empire. "The next film allows the legacy characters to be a part of the story in an organic way. Emily Carmichael and I call it 'Jurassic Park VI', because it is."

Jurassic World 3 lands in theaters on June 11, 2021.

Are you looking forward to Ellie Sattler's return? Let us know in the comments below!