Jurassic World: Dominion star Sam Neill revealed that Alan is still in love with Ellie in the upcoming film. Dominion serves as the sixth installment in the highly successful Jurassic Park franchise, following the disastrous attempts at opening a theme park full of genetically re-created dinosaurs. Set four years after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where audiences last saw the prehistoric creatures freed from the Lockwood estate, the new movie will explore the efforts between humans and dinosaurs to live alongside each other and determine who remains Earth's apex predator. Original stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and BD Wong return alongside Neill and join Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and more in the film, set to debut on June 10.
Prior to the events of the new film, fans of the franchise remember that Neill's character, Dr. Alan Grant, and Laura Dern's Dr. Ellie Sattler were in a relationship, only for her to leave him in Jurassic Park III due to his disinterest in starting a family. His character joins Dominion after having survived the crash on Isla Sorna in the third entry, and while many are interested in his return, the moments between him and Ellie have resulted in rising anticipation among audiences. Set photos revealed in October 2020 featured the pair kissing and their brief reunion in the trailer for Jurassic World: Dominion has left many excited to see their relationship brought back.
Now, in a recent interview with Gizmodo, Neill revealed how Alan feels about Ellie all these years later. When asked about how his perception of Dr. Alan Grant has changed, Neill touched on the idea of playing the character for over three decades but said that he does not think he is that different than how he was presented in the earlier installments. He went on to add that his interactions with the other characters feel familiar as well, stating that he is still in love with Ellie Sattler. Read Neill's full quote regarding Alan Grant's evolution and feelings toward Ellie below:
"I don’t think he’s changed at all. He’s just older and grumpier now. But I don’t think people do change very much over the years, and I’m just more familiar with him now than I was. And I enjoyed being back in his company. It’s interesting. You don’t get many chances to play one character over 30 years. That’s pretty strange, isn’t it? But I think it’s true for all three of those legacy characters, [myself], Laura, and Jeff. Jeff’s character is still really annoying and won’t shut up, and Alan finds him infuriating. He’s still hopelessly in love with Ellie. So things haven’t changed that much. They’re just older and not much wiser."
In February, Neill teased Jurassic World: Dominion, calling it "ambitious" and confirming that it needs to be seen in theaters. Promotion has begun to increase now leading up to the film's release, with the actor sharing more on social media and posting his own behind-the-scenes photos with the cast, including Dern. In other interviews, the pair have gone on to talk about their time filming the first Jurassic Park movie in the early 1990s, with Neill describing how surprised he was to get offered the part after Dern had been cast at 23 and Dern explaining how inappropriate their age difference was at the time.
Despite the recent realization of their on-screen relationship, both Neill and Dern have praised the Jurassic Park franchise. With Dominion supposed to serve as a franchise-capper of sorts, seeing the culmination of Ellie and Alan's decades-long relationship is just one of the many aspects of Jurassic World 3 that prove exciting for longtime fans. Given the steady resurgence in moviegoing since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it seems likely that fans will show up to see Alan and Ellie reunite, along with the rest of the original cast. As it gets closer to its release, audiences can look forward to seeing how the franchise concludes when Jurassic World: Dominion premieres soon.
Source: Gizmodo