As “Jurassic World” gears up to roll in front of cameras, the finishing touches on the cast are being put in place plus some new details about the shoot are emerging, and it turns out Colin Trevorrow‘s latest installment will be connecting all the way to back to Steven Spielberg‘s 1993 smash hit “Jurassic Park.”
First up, “Intouchables” star Omar Sy has joined the sprawling cast that includes Chris Pratt, Irrfan Khan, Bryce Dallas Howard and Vincent D’Onofrio, with THR confirming the previously rumored Idris Elba and Jake Johnson are part of the cast too. [Ed. Reps for the film tell us that prior trade reports were wrong, and Idris Elba is not part of the cast]. And as per usual, plot details on the movie are being kept under wraps for now, however, Trevorrow has revealed an unlikely character is making a return to the franchise that will certainly lead to some speculation about the direction of the plot.
“I know a lot of fans want to see the original characters back. They’re iconic. But I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons,” the director told IGN. ” ‘Jurassic Park’ isn’t about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they’d go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go. But there is a character from the first film who makes sense in our world. This hasn’t been announced yet, but BD Wong will be returning as Dr. Henry Wu. He had a much larger role in the original novel, he was the engineer of this breakthrough in de-extinction. He spent two decades living in Hammond’s shadow, underappreciated. We think there’s more to his story.”
Intriguing stuff, and it’s certainly good to know that Trevorrow really wants there to be a compelling story for this one. He’s wants to make sure it looks great too, and he elaborates on his plans to shoot the movie using both 35mm and 65mm film.
“We’re shooting 35mm and 65mm film. We’re also using an aspect ratio that hasn’t been seen theatrically in a very long time. The movie will be presented in 2 to 1. It’s basically a middle ground between 2.35 and 1.85. It allows us enough height to fit humans and dinosaurs into a single frame, without giving up that sense of scope,” he explained. “It’s very close to the ratio of the digital IMAX screens, so it will look great in large format. I think other filmmakers will want to give it a try when they see how it looks. It’s very comfortable.”
“Jurassic World” arrives on June 15, 2015.