It’s been 20 years since Sam Neill starred in Jurassic Park III, which arrived eight years after he debuted as Dr. Alan Grant in the first Jurassic Park movie. We’re still counting down to his long-awaited return to the franchise alongside Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern in Jurassic World: Dominion, but in the meantime, the actor is keeping us entertained with some amusing commentary on some Alan Grant merchandise that’s hitting shelves soon.
With a franchise as huge as Jurassic Park, naturally toys/collectibles are one of the big ways fans can show off their enthusiasm for the property. For those of you who like action figures, an Alan Grant figure from Jurassic Park’s Amber Collection is being released next month, and Sam Neill had this to say about his miniature, inanimate counterpart on Twitter:
It looks like Sam Neill approves of this new Alan Grant action figure, although whether he’ll procure one for himself (assuming one hasn’t been sent to him already) is unclear. Neill doesn’t strike me as the collectible type, but I’d like to think he has some Jurassic Park-related items around his home, even if they aren’t prominently displayed. If he were to get this action figure, I’m assuming Grant’s head with the Raybans would be the one staying put on the body. And let this be a lesson to all of you from Neill: don’t go a restaurant with a lit flare in hand.
Sam Neill has admitted that when he first played Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, he had trouble getting a good grasp on bringing an action hero to life. Neill also revealed earlier this month that Alan’s American/New Zealand hybrid accent came as a result of director Steven Spielberg originally wanting Neill to do a straightforward American accent, but then later allowing Neill more freedom with how he vocally played the character. Ultimately though, Jurassic Park remains one of Neill’s most well-known movies, and Jurassic Park III was the first time he reprised one of his characters.
It still hasn’t been revealed how Alan Grant factors into Jurassic World: Dominion’s plot, let alone how he’ll reunite with Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm and Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler. Granted, Alan and Ellie were once romantically involved, and even after breaking up, they were still in contact with one another during Jurassic Park III, so it’s easy enough to imagine they’ve kept in touch for the following two decades. As for Ian, he briefly showed up in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to testify in front of a couple U.S. Senate hearings, but like Alan and Ellie, he’ll have have a more prominent role in Dominion.
Along with the aforementioned trio, Jurassic World: Dominion will also feature the return of Jurassic Park alums Dr. Henry Wu, with BD Wong’s character having already appeared in Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as well as Lewis Dodgson, who be played this time by Campbell Scott. Dominion’s other familiar faces will include Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady, Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing, Daniella Pineda’s Zia Rodriguez, Justice Smith’s Franklin Webb, Isabella Sermon’s Maisie Lockwood and Omar Sy’s Barry Sembène, while the new actors include Mamoudou Athie, Scott Haze, Dichen Lachman, DeWanda Wise and Dimitri Thivaios. Other than dinosaurs now running/flying rampant around the world following the events of Fallen Kingdom, no story details have been disclosed yet.
Directed by Colin Trevorrow, who also co-wrote the script with Emily Carmichael, Jurassic World: Dominion rampages into theaters on June 10, 2022. Find out what other movies are arriving next year with our 2022 release schedule.
