Jake Johnson fans may be in for a major disappointment, as it looks like another Jurassic World movie is happening without the New Girl star. Johnson’s role as Lowery in the rebooted franchise has been kind of a rollercoaster, between him not returning for the second film and the renewed possibility for an appearance in the upcoming third film. With Johnson seemingly not returning to the franchise for the upcoming movie, he's now sharing exactly what happened to halt his return.
Jake Johnson explains that he was written a great part in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, reprising his role as Lowery and he was excited about filming. However, as is the case with a lot of films during the last year, the pandemic put a kink in things. Here’s what Johnson says in his own words, during an interview with Looper:
Well, I was written in, so it's announced that I was, but what happened was the pandemic hit. ... I think the publicist ... they don't want the Jurassic World information out. [Laughs] No, I was in it. So, Colin [Trevorrow] had written a great part. Lowery came back. It was a great conclusion. I was excited to do it. The pandemic hit, and at that time, there was a two-week quarantine. It was a bunch of stuff that I couldn't get out and leave the family, and we kept trying to make it work. And in the end, the dates just didn't work out for that one, which was heartbreaking because apart from being in that movie, Colin's a very old friend.
The return of Jake Johnson and his character Lowery to the Jurassic World franchise probably would have something to do with his “old friend” Colin Trevorrow. Trevorrow directed the 2015 film that kicked off the rebooted franchise and served as a writer on the 2018 sequel, Fallen Kingdom. Given that Trevorrow has overseen the direction of the entire trilogy and is good friends with Johnson, it makes sense that he would want to try to keep him in the fold.
In the same interview, Jake Johnson went into his and the director’s long relationship and how Colin Trevorrow tried to make Johnson’s role reprisal work through the pandemic issues. The actor also shared some thoughts on another potential return for Lowery. Here’s what Johnson says, exactly:
We did Safety Not Guaranteed together, and years before that, we did a bunch of like YouTube shorts. He tried everything he could to make it work. I tried everything we could, and the math just didn't ... Hopefully, what happens is as they're cutting the movie, they realize they can do a quick reshoot, and we'll pop something off really fast now. So as of now, it's not happening, but Lowery never dies — he just multiplies. So maybe there's another chance he can find his way in.
Of course, there will be plenty of character returns in the upcoming film so, honestly, anything is possible. At this time though, fans should probably temper their expectations when it comes to seeing Lowery in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, despite efforts made to get him in there. We can expect the next Jurassic Park franchise film to drop next year on June 10th and, just like Jake Johnson, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for even a small cameo appearance from his witty Jurassic Park fanboy.
