When life found a way to the big screen in 1993 Jurassic Park changed the film industry forever with its special effects and animatronic dinosaurs. Jurassic Park is my all-time favorite movie because it’s just something about dinosaurs being brought to life in theaters. I’m not even gonna lie to yall if Jurassic Park was real, I would be the first one there. Yes, I know what you’re thinking “Why would you want to do that?” Well, I kind of enjoy the rush of fearing for my life plus the movie made it look cool. The way Steven Spielberg did not use CGI and had animatronic dinosaurs made for the movie feel real even though dinosaurs have been extinct for 65 million years. So, if I could recast the movie today with the animatronic dinosaurs and all this would be my dream cast.
First, we must think of the man who made his dream of Jurassic Park a reality, John Hammond. When thinking of this casting this character I was trying to think of someone who could embody the loving grandfather while also staying true to the author Michael Crichton’s description of “the dark side of Walt Disney.” With that being said, I chose Stanley Tucci to play him because I feel like he could portray the grandfather while also getting dark when he needs to. What really did it for me was his performance as Caesar Flickerman in Hunger Games and how he switched back and forth from being this TV personality to a mouthpiece for the Capitol he deserved an award for that movie alone. He would EAT no crumbs left in this role especially with the zoom in facial expressions when everything goes wrong, my goodness I wish this was an actual remake.
To play Alan Grant the leading paleontologist, a character that led to an increase interest in paleontology amongst students after the movie came out. Is a closed off man that has such a love for dinosaurs that he decides to go to a park where dinosaurs once again rule the Earth. I chose Sterling K. Brown who has been in the tv show This is Us and the hit movie Black Panther. Sterling could play a character that buries himself in his work but also has a love for the people around him. His character would also show younger kids that you can be anything you want to be no matter how you look.
Now for his partner in crime and paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, a woman who is always willing to help and get her hands dirty. I would choose DeWanda Wise who has stared in the She’s Gotta Have It remake and the Netflix movie Someone Great. In the roles she has played she has always given the vibe that she is always down for an adventure and ready for any challenge thrown at her.
For the always formidable Ian Malcolm the charming mathematician who has stolen the hearts of viewers with the iconic scene laying on the table all battered and bruised with his open shirt. So, the only guy that I thought could replace him is Charles Melton who has had success in hit tv shows and movies such as Riverdale and Bad Boys for Life. He has always played the character you love to hate with his confident and endearing demeanor and Charles just does it so well. And he’s easy on the eyes as well so that a plus (have y’all seen him in The Sun is Also a Star? *chef’s kiss*)
Last but most certainly not least Lexi and Tim Murphy the grandchildren of John Hammond and Alan Grant’s sidekicks for majority of the movie. They need to be young people who love their grandfather and are still curious about the world. To play Lexi Murphy I would cast Jenna Ortega because she has been captivating the world away with her performances in You and the most recent Scream movie. As her slightly younger but knowledgeable brother Tim I would cast Miles Brown because he is a lovable actor who has starred in Black-ish and once again young people seeing him on screen would inspire a new generation with an interest in dinosaurs.
I would cry tears of joy to see all these actors come together and take a walk in the woods…65 million years ago.