The Feminist Spin Laura Dern Made Sure To Include In Her Jurassic World Dominion Role - Interview

It's no secret that the '90s didn't offer a wealth of strong, self-sufficient, and powerful women in the movies released during the decade. However, the "Jurassic Park" series gave fans everywhere a positive (and badass) woman to look up to: Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). But the dino-loving doc's work wasn't quite finished after the "Jurassic Park" trilogy.

In the third and final installment of the "Jurassic World" series, Dern is back in action as Dr. Sattler, and she hasn't left her feminist arc behind. As it turns out, fans have Dern herself to thank for that inclusion. In fact, the women in "Jurassic World Dominion" are often the ones saving the day, which is a refreshing change of pace from the damsel in distress angle far too many Hollywood films rely on. "Jurassic Park" was ahead of its time in many ways, and it's great to see that the franchise hasn't lost that in the decades since the first movie's release.

During an exclusive interview with our sister site Slashfilm, Laura Dern explained the feminist details she insisted on including in "Jurassic World Dominion."

For Dern, one of the most important components in returning for the movie was making sure the women leads were just as seen, critical, and self-sufficient as the men. Luckily, director Colin Trevorrow looked to the original cast for their input. Dern said, "Really, because of fans, I know what we put into this film to make sure that a female character was an equal to the men in the story." She added, "That she's a feminist, that she holds some — thanks to everyone's hard work — some pretty memorable feminist lines of dialogue, that she have an activist spirit and a brilliant scientific mind, and an independent thinker. When things got tough, she was like, 'You boys rest, I'm going to go take care of all of us.'" And let's face it, Ellie Sattler is the most badass character in the franchise.

"That is not something we typically saw in film, as we know, in the early '90s. So I felt so proud that this became a franchise, and powerful women have continued in these stories, particularly in this movie, all of us together," Dern explained. "So it was really important to me that that character hold that kind of independence and individuality, and has evolved in her area of science, being now focused on soil science and climate change, felt everything we would want of Dr. Ellie Sattler."

Reprising such an iconic and important feminist role wasn't just important for fans, but for Dern herself. She noted, "I feel really proud to get to play her again, and how she and the characters from the first film have influenced movie lovers and moviegoers all these years. So, I'm happy to, with an amazing group of people, try to stay true to those original characters."

"Jurassic World Dominion" is now playing in theaters.