He has been a Man In Black. He’s about to be an Oldboy for Spike Lee. And if the ducks line up in a row, Josh Brolin might run from – or stalk – digital dinosaurs in Jurassic World, the fourth chapter in the ongoing Jurassic Park franchise.
Variety reports that Brolin is “in early talks” to join the sequel, which will be directed by Safety Not Guaranteed filmmaker Colin Trevorrow. Brolin reportedly would join an ensemble that includes young actors Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3) and Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer). Brolin also might act alongside Bryce Dallas Howard, who has been mentioned for the movie in the past – and is included in the Variety article – but has not yet been confirmed for the new sequel.
A few details are starting to surface, confirming what we’ve floated. While Variety acknowledges that plot details are “unknown” for Trevorrow and co-writer Derek Connolly’s script, the trade does report that Simpkins and Robinson will play siblings, leaving us to think that Howard and Brolin (if they land the roles) could play parents in the movie.
Brolin reportedly was looked at for the lead role by Jurassic World producers when they were trying to cast the sequel earlier. Interestingly enough, Brolin also was in the mix for the Batman role in Zack Snyder’s untitled Batman-Superman movie, but lost out to Ben Affleck. It's pretty obvious that Brolin is one of those actors major studios are looking to when they want to build up a major franchise.
But why? And I ask this with absolutely no disrespect to Brolin, who I think is a solid actor. His highest-grossing film, Men In Black 3, did so well at the box office primarily because it was an established franchise resting on Will Smith’s shoulders. Brolin’s an amazing character actor who has contributed to powerful dramatic ensembles in movies like Milk, True Grit and No Country for Old Men. But when studios have tried to turn him into a bankable leading man in movies like Gangster Squad and Jonah Hex, they’ve opened to tepid numbers like $17 million and $5 million, respectively.
Now, Jurassic World will sell itself on dinosaurs, and hopefully Trevorrow can lure massive summer crowds into theaters by delivering types of carnivorous creatures that we haven’t seen in the previous three Jurassic movies. Will people buy a ticket because Brolin’s in one of the leads? Possibly. But I’m sure we’re all much more concerned with what the story of the sequel will be, so hopefully a few details regarding the plot will start to leak... and soon.
