We were all saddened at the passing of Lord Richard Attenborough, a man whose career spanned over 70 years and earned him two Oscars for his directorial masterpiece, Gandhi, as well as two Golden Globes for performances in The Sand Pebbles and Doctor Doolittle.Most know Attenborough best for his role as the entrepreneur John Hammond, who in the 1993 film Jurassic Park envisioned a state of the art park where people could witness real life dinosaurs. Attenborough charmed audiences with Hammond's enthusiasm, however misguided, but never played Hammond as a buffoon, instead giving the character a sad, almost tragic edge.

Over 20 years later, the Jurassic Park franchise is ready for a comeback with Jurassic World in 2015. This latest film in the series finds Hammond's dream a reality, as a fully functional Jurassic Park now operates on Isla Nublar entirely outfitted with honest to goodness dinosaurs.

In tribute to the late, great Attenborough, Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow tweeted this picture from the set along with the words "In memoriam":

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John Hammond Statue Jurassic World

This statue of Hammond was likely already slated to appear in the recently wrapped film, but whether Attenborough's character would be referenced as having also passed is unclear.

Obviously, no matter its initial intention, the statue will now hold a greater significance for fans given the recent news.

And considering how in Jurassic Park, Hammond envisioned himself as something of a 'Walt Disney of Dinos,'  it'll be interesting to see if this statue is Hammond's only mark on Jurassic World. If indeed the park seen in this sequel is Hammond's dream made reality, then surely they'd have managed to include his interactive introductory video for the facility tour as yet another nod to the first film, and now to the late actor as well.

Jurassic World Jurassic Park Map

Beyond the few details about a new dinosaur Trevorrow had previously shared and some images of park maps for Isla Nublar, we don't know much about will happen in Jurassic World. But it's surely a safe bet something will go horribly wrong and dangerous prehistoric lizards will be let loose to terrorize park patrons. How exactly everything will go wrong remains to be seen.

What do you think, Screen Rant readers? Are you happy to see the tribute to Richard Attenborough in the Jurassic Park sequel? Let us know in the comments.

Jurassic World hits U.S. theaters on June 12th, 2015.

Source: Colin Trevorrow