When the first Jurassic World movie was coming together several years ago, a script was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. The project was later taken over by Colin Trevorrow, who directed the first movie and doctored the original script, with a little help from his writing partner Derek Connolly. However, that work didn't happen until after Trevorrow and Connolly read over the initial script, and in an interview with the Bryce Dallas Howard Community's new magazine, Trevorrow revealed some details about how the original script for the movie was very different. He said:
I only read Rick and Amanda's script once, so I don't remember all the details of it. The lead character was a guy called Vance, who ultimately became Owen in our story. The Film opened with Vance jumping out of a helicopter with a pack of raptors on a military raid of a drug dealer's compound in Colombia. It was a different approach. But there was a character who had one or two scenes, the manager for the corporate side of the park. I think her name was Whitney. She was an antagonist to the hero, putting up red tape.
In early drafts, there wasn't even an Owen Grady or a Claire Dearing. In fact, although it's been a little while since Colin Trevorrow read the original draft of Jurassic World, he says there are some details about the original script that made him realize that perhaps they could go in another direction and create a more empathetic character for the movie. Instead, the interview in the quarterly BDH Network Magazine also reveals that Trevorrow saw a lot of potential to grow away from the Whitney character, and Bryce Dallas Howard's character Claire Dearing was eventually born from those conversations.
I remember reading that one scene and feeling like this character had the most room to grow out of anyone I'd read so far. She wasn't awed by dinosaurs, she saw them as widgets in a business. To take a character who had lost her compass like that and bring her back to the wonder and respect for these creatures felt like a real journey. We thought her love of dinosaurs would likely have driven her to this job in the first place--she just had to find it again.
The changes made to the script ended up being a point of contention years ago, so it's interesting to see what really changed from the original draft. In addition, the initial design of Claire has become a focal point for the character and her transformation has continued in the series. During Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, she definitely has the dinosaurs' best interests at heart -- or thinks she does -- when she is convinced to return to Isla Nublar and save members of each of the dinosaur species from impending doom at the hands of a volcano on the island. Her desire to help the dinosaurs is clear throughout the movie, and her indecision over the future of what the dinosaur's lives should be like near the end of Fallen Kingdom is also a far cry from the "Whitney" character that was originally envisioned. We'll have to wait and see what ends up happening when Colin Trevorrow returns to helm Jurassic World 3, but it's clear he has a very solid vision of the character these days.
You can learn more about Jurassic World 3 with our full guide. You can also catch Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital this September.
