Massive spoilers ahead for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. If you haven't seen it yet, check out one of our other great stories.
It's a very exciting weekend for the generations of Jurassic Park fans out there. Steven Spielberg's original classic changed the film world forever, and a new trilogy is currently being explored years later. While Jurassic World was full of nostalgic fun, Fallen Kingdom is decidedly darker, and takes the franchise out of the island for its second half. The film's third act changes the property forever, as Dinosaurs are allowed to roam free in the real world. CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg spoke to Bryce Dallas Howard herself, where she revealed Claire's thinking during that climactic decision, and why it was ultimately Maisie who let the creatures go.
We talked about that scene exhaustively, and there were a lot of different versions of that scene, in terms of how we got there, and what was going on. Like basically the psychology of each of the characters in that moment. Claire was never going to push that button. And I think that it was that edge, pushing up, exploring that, and because that's something that we talked about, Like, 'Would she?' and getting into territories for this character where it's actually, it's like she's someone who's transformed, and her values are realigned, and her values are being pushed to a point where it's like, 'Oh my gosh, this feels like a lose-lose.' You know what I mean? It's forcing her to make a decision that is an impossible human decision to make. I love that moment, and I love that. It's like with Claire's place in life with the journey that she's been through, she makes that painful, painful choice to not press the button. But then obviously, you know, there's another character with her perspective and where she's at in her life, where there's only one choice, which is to press the button. And it is correct for both. I love that.
While Owen has been a constantly charming badass, Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire is the character who has had the most growth in the first two Jurassic World movies. Originally a bit of money hungry exec, Howard develops empathy for the park's dinosaurs, and spends the entirety of Fallen Kingdom attempting to save them from re-extinction.
The third act sees the potential to end all the shadiness and genetic weaponry. With toxic fumes filling up the holding facility for the Dinosaurs, Claire decides whether to save them, and therefore allow them to live in the real world. While she can't bring herself free them (Ian Malcolm would be proud), Maisie ultimately identifies with the cloned Dinos, does it herself. And just like that, the franchise has changed forever.
During his conversation with Bryce Dallas Howard, CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg also asked the Fallen Kingdom actress what Claire thought of Maisie's decision. She said,
I'm sure she's like, 'Oh, thank God.' [laughs] Those decisions, those kinds of decisions in life, impossible decisions, it's best when they can be taken out of your hands, you know? In part what this movie is, is it's like when these decisions are taken out of your hands, can you go further? And you know, that's why it's like, 'Oh, it's a natural disaster on Isla Nublar. Oh well.' And Claire's like, 'No!' No, it's not just an oh well situation.' [laughs] And I think that now, this moment at the end of this film, the decision was taken out of her hands, but it's opened up a world now that is never going to be able to be contained, but we can never be resigned about that. And I think that's kind of the state that we're in in the world right now, where it's like, okay, there's a lot going on, but the one thing that we're not allowed to be is passive. Because if we're passive, we lose. If there's apathy, we lose. This is kind of, in a way, it's sort of like a template of, if you care about something, this is what it looks like.[laughs] This is what it looks like to take action.
Ultimately Claire got to save the dinosaurs, without having the decision actually be on her conscience. The morality of genetic splicing is at the heart of the Jurassic World movies, and Fallen Kingdom really hammered the point home that humanity would be better off without them. But the Dinos are already alive, and now they're able to live among humans. If we can survive.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is in theaters now. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
