Jurassic Park’s Ian Malcolm was a scene-stealer with his eccentricities and brilliant mind. His presence was so important that he was eventually brought back for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. But what if the eccentric mathematician wasn’t a part of the beloved blockbuster? That almost happened, according to Jeff Goldblum. Goldblum revealed how the beloved character was almost cut from the movie.
It’s hard to imagine the Jurassic Park franchise without Ian Malcolm. Moviegoers would’ve missed the opportunity to witness Jeff Goldblum give one of his best performances. But like any film, sometimes, characters get cut even before production starts. Goldblum had to put in some work to save his role. The Thor: Ragnarok star spilled to GQ what happened during his initial meeting with Steven Spielberg.
I read the book, read the script, went in. At that first meeting he said ‘Hey, good to meet you. I’ve enjoyed what you’ve done. There’s a current faction at least in my group here that thinks the script should develop a little. We may take your character out of it, and put that character from the book, Malcolm, and kind of meld it in the Grant character so it’s kind of one guy.’
Melding Ian Malcolm with Alan Grant sounded like a budget or story issue. But imagining Grant’s introvert with Malcolm’s eccentricities may have been too much for audiences to take on the big screen. Thankfully, Spielberg and the producers decided to keep the brilliant mathematician in the franchise.
Of course, Jeff Goldblum being Jeff Goldblum, he wasn’t about to let things go down without a fight. During his interview, the Independence Day star mentioned pitching how important his character was to the film. Goldblum was unclear if this pitch helped save Ian Malcolm from the chopping block. Either way, everything worked out as Malcolm stayed in Jurassic Park, and The Fly star is now in his fourth installment.
Dr. Ian Malcolm will take center stage in Jurassic World: Dominion after returning to the franchise in the 2018 sequel. The character disappeared after his appearance in 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The latest installment will mark a reunion between Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern with the return of Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler, respectively. So, devoted fans will get to see the three OG stars coming together again to save the world from dinosaurs.
Audiences will get to see Ian Malcolm again when Jurassic Park: Dominion arrives in theaters on June 10, 2022. That film is just one of many projects Jeff Goldblum has coming down the pipeline. But if you want to see Dr. Malcolm from the beginning, you can stream Jurassic Park on Hulu, HBO Max and Prime Video.
