If there’s anything we learned from Jurassic Park, it’s that life finds a way — and the same can be said of Jeff Goldblum’s character in the film, who has apparently found a way to return for the upcoming Jurassic World sequel.
Goldblum’s eccentric mathematician Ian Malcolm famously appeared in the first two installments of the Jurassic Park franchise, and was one of the first to issue a dire warning about the dangers of bringing dinosaurs back into a world that had left them behind ages ago. His character miraculously survived the events of both films, despite nearly meeting his end at the jaws of velociraptors and other formerly extinct dinosaurs.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goldblum will indeed reprise that role in the Jurassic World sequel.
Set to be directed by J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls) from a script by Jurassic World co-writers Colin Trevorrow (who also directed Jurassic World) and Derek Connolly, the Jurassic World sequel brings back stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and adds Toby Jones, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, and Rafe Spall to the franchise cast.
Details regarding the plot of the sequel are scarce at this point, but Trevorrow offered up some ideas about the themes it might explore back in July 2015.
“A seed that I wanted to plant in this movie, that might be able to grow in more of these movies if they decide to make more of them, is: What if this went open source?” he told Wired UK. “It’s almost like InGen is Mac, but what if PC gets their hands on it? What if there are 15 different entities around the world who can make a dinosaur?”
Bayona also revealed a promotional image from the film earlier this year.
This won’t be the first franchise Goldblum has returned to after a long absence. The actor previously reprised his role from the 1996 alien-invasion movie Independence Day for that film’s 2016 sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence.
The Jurassic World sequel is scheduled to hit theaters June 22, 2018.
