I don't care how prepared you are, facing off against hordes of ravenous dinosaurs will take a mental toll on you. Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Sam Neill's Alan Grant wouldn't make it through the Jurassic Park films without some serious trauma. It's been a long time since we've seen our favorite cinematic paleontologist, and Sam Neill recently decided to provide some much needed insight into the character's ultimate fate. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a downer. Neill explained:
I think the problem is that no one knows where Alan Grant is anymore. He's retired from paleontology. He's sick to death of dinosaurs and running. He's not quite as fleet of foot as he was, and he's now retired to Dayton, Ohio and has a very successful accountancy business.
Sitting down with ShortList to discuss his work on Taika Waititi's latest film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sam Neill addressed the ultimate fate of his most iconic character: Jurassic Park's Alan Grant. Apparently, Neill believes that Dr. Grant eventually grew tired of paleontology and retired to Dayton, Ohio, where he now runs a successful accounting firm far away from the dangers of dinosaurs. Becoming slow in his old age, he has opted for safety over adventure. It's admittedly not a very glorious fate for one of the most iconic movie heroes of the 1990s, so I'm not sure how I feel about that.
That being said, it's better than the other possibility offered up by Sam Neill. Immediately after suggesting that Alan Grant may have switched careers and become a boring accountant, Neill then hypothesizes that grant may simply have died in the years since his last adventure on a dinosaur filled island. After all, a man can only take so much stress.
He's obviously kidding, but from a narrative standpoint both of those possibilities would make plenty of sense. Characters like Alan Grant or Ian Malcolm are barely mentioned in the updated Jurassic World continuity, so it remains entirely plausible that they're enjoying lives in obscurity, and won't return to face off against any more dinosaurs. The abysmal Jurassic Park 3 established that the events of the first Jurassic Park film left Dr. Grant with quite a bit of emotional baggage, it wouldn't be surprising to see him abandon his archeological pursuits for something a little safer.
Of course, just because Dr. Grant and Ian Malcolm haven't appeared together in the new Jurassic continuity doesn't mean that a reunion isn't in the works. It recently came to light that Sam Neill would make an appearance in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, which has us sincerely hoping that he shares scenes with Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster at some point. If someone doesn't say "life finds a way" then I will consider the whole thing a big waste of time.
Although it's not the most uplifting fate for a beloved movie character, it definitely makes sense when we think about it. Perhaps we will get more definitive answers to the question of Alan Grant's ultimate fate when Jurassic World 2 hits theaters on June 22, 2018.
