The One Ellie Sattler Update Laura Dern Demanded Before Signing On To Jurassic World Dominion

The 1993 film "Jurassic Park" has built an enduring legacy over the years, with its popularity leading to a number of sequels, including the 2015 film "Jurassic World," which introduced a new set of characters dealing with the dinosaur park and its issues.

The newest entry in the franchise, titled "Jurassic World Dominion," sees many key members returning to the series. Alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprising their roles as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, respectively, filmmaker Colin Trevorrow also returns to the director's chair, as well as taking on co-writing duties.

However, the film also sees the return of the primary trio of characters from the 1993 film, as Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are reprising their roles as Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ian Malcolm, and Dr. Ellie Sattler, respectively. This marks the first time the three characters have been in the same film since "Jurassic Park," and in an interview, Dern expanded on her demands for the character of Dr. Sattler before she signed on to the film.

In an interview with Comic Book, Laura Dern spoke about how her return to the franchise hinged on the guarantee that her character, Dr. Ellie Sattler, would have evolved from the last time she played a prominent role in the franchise.

Dern elaborated that she thought Dr. Sattler would have grown from studying soil to being an active participant in the fight against climate change, both from a scientist's and an activist's perspective. "But to me, how she'd evolved in her area of science that she had studied as a paleontologist, our former extinction, and would have evolved as a soil scientist whose focus would be climate change to avoid another extinction," she said.

The actress went on to add that this evolution was always a key part of Dr. Sattler's character, not only from the movie but also from the book by author Michael Crichton. She also said that the character would naturally have become an activist as well, believing that simply pursuing academics wouldn't change things, and that action would be required beyond the field. "And she wouldn't not be an activist. It's Dr. Ellie Sattler, come on," Dern said. "And if boys want to join her and use their voice, they might have an amazing experience. But they better abandon dig sites and get with the program and start saving the world."

Dern, however, noted that she faced no pushback from Colin Trevorrow on the subject and that he was also passionate about environmentalism and climate change. According to her, the director was only too happy to incorporate this aspect of Dr. Sattler into "Jurassic World Dominion."