One of the most exciting things about the lead up to the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was the discovery that Jeff Goldblum was going to reprise his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. Unfortunately, after seeing the movie, many fans were disappointed, as it turned out that the character wasn't actually in the movie very much at all. Producer Colin Trevorrow was recently asked if there was any discussion of bringing the character to the island and giving him a larger part in the story. Apparently, there was never much discussion about making the role any larger, as it was felt that anything the writers did to make Jeff Goldblum's character a bigger part of the story would have been too contrived. According to Trevorrow...
We never did. It always felt really cheap to me. It always felt fake. It felt like a construct of screenwriters trying to figure out how to fit in a character they love. I have so much respect for those characters that I just wouldn't want them doing anything I don't think they'd naturally do.
It may take you longer to read this article than Jeff Goldblum was on screen during Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. He acts as a sort of bookend to the story, appearing in an early scene where he is testifying before Congress on the subject of what to do with the dinosaurs that are in danger on Isla Nublar. He returns at the end speaking before the same committee, and setting up the new world that we will see when Jurassic World 3 arrives in a few years.
While fans may have been frustrated by the lack of Goldblum, because there can never be too much Goldblum, Colin Trevorrow's comments on the Empire Film Podcast are actually good news. If there wasn't a way to make a larger Ian Malcolm appearance not seem solely like a gimmick, then it's best that it didn't happen. The only thing worse than seeing the character return in a glorified cameo would be seeing him return in some ridiculous way that didn't make any sense that was ultimately damaging to what people loved about the character in the first place. Trevorrow makes it clear he loves the character too, and thus he didn't want to see him used badly.
In the end, it's a good thing that these characters from the early part of the franchise are being used properly. B.D. Wong's Dr. Wu made sense to be working in the park in the previous film and his character arc has continued from there. It remains to be seen if other characters will return in Jurassic World 3, but fans can rest easy that, if they do, it should be in a way that makes sense for the story being told.
