Warning: Spoilers for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory are in play. If you haven’t watched Season 1 in its entirety yet, you’ve been warned.
Netflix has officially opened a new book in the Jurassic Universe, the new animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. The entertaining show picks up six years after Camp Cretaceous, which saw "The Nublar Six" surviving dinosaur and human threats as they came. And, in the end, a lifelong friendship was forged between these eventually happy campers. And with the decision to return to those former youngsters on the 2024 TV schedule entry, there came some interesting feedback from Jurassic brass. That was evident via the recasting of Jenna Ortega's character, which actually proved to be invaluable for narrative purposes.
The death of Jenna Ortega's Brooklynn, influencer-turned-dino conspiracy investigator, was met with producer Colin Trevorrow’s initial Chaos Theory skepticism. But that twist, and the continued fallout through the rest of the story, was actually helped by the fact that former campers Brooklynn and Kenji would be respectively recast with actors Kiersten Kelly and Darren Barnet, respectively. That need for fresh casting actually helped sell Brooklyn’s twist through a wonderful bit of representation, and some added context for where we see her and Kenji in the pre-Jurassic World Dominion world of this series.
How Jenna Ortega’s Recasting In Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Helped Sell Brooklynn’s “Death”
As it turns out, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory ended up losing two major cast members before Chaos Theory’s production. In addition to Ms. Ortega, actor Ryan Potter, the voice of Kenji through Camp Cretaceous, was unable to reprise his role. As I spoke with executive producers Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley about the subject amid Netflix’s press day, they discussed a brilliant story of turning change into opportunity.
Admittedly, when the first full trailer for Chaos Theory was released, I was wondering if some sort of Brooklynn recasting would be in the works. As Scott Kreamer noted in our interview, the smash hit success of the A-lister's other Netflix series, Wednesday, is just one of the reasons her schedule has become a bit packed in recent years. But here’s something fun that executive producer Kreamer mentioned to me: Brooklynn was always going to “die” at the beginning of this new show. Ortega’s absence wasn’t what dictated that supposedly cold blooded murder of a Camp Cretaceous character to happen in the first place. At least, that’s what Kreamer told CinemaBlend, as he provided this story about the evolution of Brooklynn’s purpose in the story:
I was going, okay, the fact that Jenna's not coming back actually helped sell this idea. Because the whole idea of Brooklyn dying, that happened long before. That was written with Jenna doing the role that was not like, ‘Oh, we're not gonna be able to get Jenna, what can we do?’ It was like, ‘No, this is the character who would be asking the questions that would get her into trouble.’ We knew we were gonna see Brooklynn in flashbacks.
Considering the removal of the real-life practicalities of recasting Brooklynn with Kiersten Kelly, making her the character to disappear was the right move for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. I’m further convinced of this after seeing the entire run of Season 1, as the subplot involving Kenji breaking up with her, only for Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams) to fall for her right after, works better because of this.
Both literally and figuratively, Brooklynn and Kenji are different people after Camp Cretaceous. And, while part of that difference is due to Kenji’s family playing a part in some shady business in the previous series, we also see in those flashbacks that his split with his post-Isla Nublar girlfriend came from some very personal fears. Plus, Kenji and Darius' falling-out only gets deeper when adding that angle to it all.
It would have been awesome to hear Ryan Potter and Jenna Ortega lend their vocals that storyline, for sure. However, when discussing Darren Barnet's performance as Kenji, Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley both praised his ability to slip into the character’s trademark attributes. They especially talked up how Barnet’s vocal likeness to Potter was an advantage; which leads to perhaps the most exciting aspect of Kiersten Kelly’s casting as the older Brooklynn for Chaos Theory.
The Unique Opportunity Recasting Brooklynn Provided Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
I apologize to all of the Camp Fam out there who have been reading this article, and seeing how I’ve cryptically talked about Brooklynn’s Jurassic World: Chaos Theory twist. But, dear readers, I’ve been cagey, because I wanted to save how the most shocking story beat led to a moment of truly awesome representation for last. For any Netflix subscription holders still with me who don’t want the finale to Chaos Theory spoiled, you’ve been warned.
As those who have watched would know, Brooklynn actually survived her run-in with that Allosaurus being hunted by ex-Department of Prehistoric Wildlife officer Darius. The young woman lost a hand in the process but managed to keep her life; a revelation which only further highlights a theory presented towards the end of Season 1. With Brooklynn still alive, could she truly be trying to help the conspiracy that allegedly wanted her dead?
While that’s still up for debate, Scott Kreamer’s mention of how they came to cast Kiersten Kelly as the older Brooklynn brought to light some interesting facts. The first was that it sounds like Brooklynn wasn’t always going to have survived her dinner date with destiny. And as you can read below, the character’s new limb difference opened the door to representative recasting:
Once we landed upon the idea of Brooklynn had survived, but in surviving the attack now has a limb difference, and we knew we had to recast, we did definitely read more actresses with limb differences than we would've. But we also wanted the best actress. We read actresses with no limb difference, we read actresses with limb differences.
On paper, Kiersten Kelly’s resume shows that she’s done modeling work, as well as contributed a performance to the short film Emergency Contact. For some productions, that might be seen as a stumbling block; even with Ms. Kelly bringing her own limb difference to the table as a factor of authenticity.
But Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley eventually went with Kiersten Kelly as Jurassic World: Chaos Theory’s new Brooklynn, and for all of the right reasons. The thought process that led to that hiring sounds like a story of a talent landing their breakout role through a series of very impressive auditions.
Complimenting both Kiersten Kelly and Darren Barnet’s talents, Scott Kreamer rounded off our discussion on the matter by discussing the key factor that ultimately allowed Ms. Kelly to win over the creative team:
Even though Kirsten didn't have the most experience, she just kept coming back and it was like, I talk about heart. And she just had this facility with [the role], 'cause what a roller coaster. And also there are times she'll say something and it's like, ‘Oh my gosh, that sounds just like Jenna.’ Which is just a bonus on top of it. I just feel really lucky that we found two great actors to replace two great actors. Like I said, we would've loved to have everyone back, but all things considered this worked out really great for us.
Again, if you hadn’t told me that Brooklynn or Kenji had been recast, I might not have known the difference. That’s not saying Jenna Ortega or Ryan Potter aren’t missed, but rather I mean to say that Jurassic World: Chaos Theory feels like returning to old friends who have grown over the years.
Kiersten Kelly and Darren Barnet uphold the work of their predecessors, while Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley’s love for the Jurassic Universe is still fully on display. That's all any fan or creator could hope for, besides, of course, the results leading to another long-running series of dino discoveries.
While we all settle into the eventual waiting game of whether or not Jurassic World: Chaos Theory will be renewed for a second season, there’s plenty of time to go back to the past and collect clues for the future. Both the entire run of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, as well as Season 1 of Chaos Theory, are currently available to stream. Also, be sure to check out the Netflix release schedule for other titles that are or will be streaming soon.
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