3 Jurassic Park Characters Made Worse by the Jurassic World Movies

If you’re a Jurassic Park fan, you know that a big part of the franchise’s charm has always been its characters. Ambitious scientists, theories, and decisions that almost always go horribly wrong were all part of the package. But when the saga moved on to Jurassic World, not all the returns landed the way they should. Bringing back names that were key to the original’s success seemed like a great idea, but some ended up watered down or completely irrelevant. It’s weird (and frustrating) to see characters who once stood out for adding tension, humor, and intelligence to the story reduced to cameo appearances or turned into something they were never meant to be.

Here are 3 Jurassic Park characters who got completely butchered when they showed up in the first three Jurassic World movies. The outcome is so sad, you might be better off pretending they never came back.

3) Dr. Ellie Sattler

When Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) shows up alongside Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) in Jurassic World: Dominion, it’s genuinely a great surprise for longtime fans. But she’s a character who got a slightly different treatment than her original portrayal. In Jurassic Park, she was exactly the kind of character everyone remembers: smart, practical, and brave. She didn’t need to be front and center to make an impact – whenever she got involved, every action mattered. She thought fast, acted decisively, and had real expertise, which made her feel like a vital part of the story, not just a love interest or Grant’s sidekick. That’s the Ellie fans expected to see again in Jurassic World, but instead, she faded into the background.

In Dominion, she’s still an important scientist, sure, but the script turns her more into a symbol of environmental awareness than a character with her own arc. It’s not like she could steal the spotlight anyway, and bringing back the classic characters was always meant as a bonus. Still, Ellie’s clearly sidelined compared to her original role. She may have suffered the least in terms of character damage, since her essence remains intact. However, it seems like a forced decision to include her, purely to please fans and draw in the audience. Grant fares slightly better because he had a bigger role in Jurassic Park, but she comes across as basically: “if Grant’s here, she has to be too.”

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2) Dr. Henry Wu

It’s true that in the original Jurassic Park films, Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) barely had any screen time, but that actually worked for his role. He was the scientist behind the dinosaurs, but the story didn’t need his full arc, because the mystery and danger came from the creatures, not him. Wu mainly served a functional purpose, explaining the science (which was essential for the audience to understand what was going on) and then exiting the scene. His subtlety worked: he was there to show scientific ambition without needing to dominate the story.

When the Jurassic World movies came along, Wu returned and got a bigger role – but the execution was rough. It felt like they took a minor character and forced him into a position of importance, but exaggerated it in all the wrong ways. He becomes the scientist who creates the Indominus Rex, then the Indoraptor, and in Jurassic World: Dominion, he even tries to redeem himself. That would be fine, but the problem is he swings between genius and manipulative villain as if he’s just a plot device rather than a believable character. Wu became central to the conflict in the newer films, but the subtle charm that made him interesting is gone. What was meant to improve the character actually made him worse.

1) Dr. Ian Malcolm

In the original trilogy, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) was the character everyone wanted to listen to. He wasn’t just funny; he was the critical brain of the story, always pointing out problems before any disaster hit. Even though he was introduced as a kind of heartthrob (or at least that’s what he thought), every sarcastic remark he made about “playing God,” for example, carried weight and intelligence. The audience could always tell he was actually thinking about what was happening, not just delivering jokes for comic relief. There was a balance, and Malcolm didn’t need to be the hero to be memorable – he was the one helping viewers grasp the full scope of the chaos.

But in the Jurassic World films, it was a completely different story: Malcolm ended up feeling more like a nostalgia cameo than the relevant character he once was. He shows up, drops a few funny lines, and that’s it – he doesn’t significantly impact the story, and honestly, the movies would barely change if he weren’t there. This is a character who once mattered because he offered critique and reason, yet in the new story, he became nothing more than walking fan service, contributing virtually nothing to the overall plot. Appearing in Fallen Kingdom and Dominion should’ve been enough to develop him properly. By far, he’s one of the characters most harmed by the sequels.

What did you think about these characters coming back in Jurassic World? Did it work, or should they have stayed in the past? Let us know in the comments!