Unused Jurassic Park Storyboards Depict John Hammond Getting Killed by Raptors

In 1993, director Steven Spielberg delivered his adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s novel Jurassic Park, a film which not only became one of the biggest hits of the year, but inspired countless viewers to embrace their love of the prehistoric creatures and ignited one of cinema’s most successful franchises. For a number of reasons, Spielberg made some tweaks to the original narrative, which largely reduced some of the more gruesome elements of the novel. One of these changes involved the fate of park creator John Hammond, as he was killed by his own creations in the original novel. Over at Jurassic Time’s Facebook page, storyboard images of that original demise were shared.

The above images depict Hammond being attacked in the control room on top of a scale model of the park, which results in eggs from an incubator rolling across the ground, with one of these eggs hatching. In the novel, Hammond is killed by a pack of Procompsognathus. The page noted that the idea of a scale model was seemingly repurposed for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

One reason for the change of Hammond’s fate would likely be the shift in tone of his character. In the novel, Hammond is a far more greedy figure who is less emotionally impacted by the harm caused by his creations. While the film might not have given the character as gruesome a demise, his more wholesome appearance makes the fate of the park a stronger emotional blow than being killed, given his more benevolent intentions.

While Hammond last appeared on screen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, his presence continues to be felt in the franchise. Hammond’s likeness appears as a statue in Jurassic World while Fallen Kingdom features Sir Benjamin Lockwood, played by James Cromwell, who was Hammond’s partner before the events of the original film.

Jurassic World serves as a continuation of the original films, though serves more strongly as a reboot of the series, as it only features the return of BD Wong from the original movie. Fallen Kingdom, however, saw Jeff Goldblum reprise his role as Ian Malcolm for a scene, his first appearance since 1998’s The Lost World. It’s unclear exactly what the future holds for the franchise, though star Bryce Dallas Howard recently teased that more familiar faces could return for Jurassic World 3.

“Yes, very much so. If that happens, I don’t know,” Howard replied to MTV News when asked if she was excited to share scenes with original cast members. “I don’t know what’s been confirmed or whatever, but I’ll blink if it’s happening and maybe…”

Jurassic World 3 is slated to hit theaters on June 11, 2021.

Do you wish Jurassic Park had kept the above scene? Let us know in the comments below!