65 star Adam Driver clarifies that there is no time travel in the movie, even though there are dinosaurs. After playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Driver makes his return to the science fiction genre in the action-heavy 65. Coming on the heels of the hugely successful Jurassic World trilogy, 65 tries to tap into the public’s enduring fascination with dinosaurs, by having a heroic Driver do battle with the prehistoric beasts.
Trailers for 65 may make it seem that the film involves a time travel element as well, but Driver just clarified that this is not so, telling Jimmy Fallon that his character does not actually go back in time in the film.
Driver makes his remarks at around 3:20 mark of the above video. Check out the actor’s comments in the space below:
There’s no time travel. It's a parallel universe that they're saying that existed 65 million years ago, and they find that they've crash landed on prehistoric Earth.
Why 65 Might Be Shying Away From Time Travel
Driver’s explanation for how his astronaut character ends up in a world full of dinosaurs - without employing time travel - may sound like splitting hairs, there being little difference in a practical sense between going backward in time and ending up in a parallel universe. What’s interesting is the deliberate effort being made to let audiences know that 65 is not a time travel movie.
It’s clear from 65’s marketing approach that producers want to emphasize the film’s action elements, and downplay the actual science fiction details behind the story. The worry could be that, if potential viewers think time travel is involved, they'll suspect the movie's story is very complicated and potentially confusing, as time travel movies can sometimes become. Driver’s insistence in his Fallon appearance that there’s no time travel in 65 seems like part of an effort to brand the film as a fun PG-13 action movie with dinosaurs, and not a super-complex and possibly even overly scary science fiction film that will require a lot of thinking.
It remains to be seen if audiences get the message, and go out with the kids to see Driver battle dinosaurs. But 65 may have an uphill battle in several ways, not just because audiences are worried about time travel being involved. The title could also be an issue, as it’s not very memorable. It’s also arguable that Driver himself is not a real box office draw, despite having Star Wars on his resume. 65 hits theaters on March 10.