Jeff Goldblum compares his return as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Dominion to The Exorcist. Goldblum had already made a name for himself by the time Jurassic Park came out in 1994, most notably with David Cronenberg's The Fly, yet the role of Ian Malcolm is arguably his most popular role to date. Malcolm was one of the three main characters in Steven Spielberg's first film in the Jurassic Park trilogy, alongside Sam Neill's Alan Grant and Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler. Goldblum also led The Lost World, with the story revolving around him traveling to John Hammond's second Jurassic Park site to save his girlfriend.
After 2001's Jurassic Park 3 was released, Jurassic Park 4 was stuck in development hell for years. 14 years later, the reboot/sequel Jurassic World came out in 2015, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film, along with its sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, hasn't been able to reach the same critical praise as the original Jurassic Park, partly because Malcolm, Alan, and Ellie haven't been involved in the story. Goldblum had a small cameo in the first Jurassic World sequel, and he is set to have a starring role in Jurassic World: Dominion alongside Neill and Dern, marking their first collaboration in nearly 30 years.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Goldblum explains that he first met Trevorrow while filming a Jeep Super Bowl ad where he recreates the iconic "Must go faster," scene from Jurassic Park. Goldblum says that Trevorrow came up to him at the craft-services table to tell him to be prepared to return for another sequel since Jurassic World: Dominion was planning to include Malcolm, Alan, and Ellie. Goldblum jokingly compared the interaction to the scene in The Exorcist when Max von Sydow's Father Merrin is asked to perform another exorcism. Check out his full comment below:
I shot a commercial for the Super Bowl with Colin Trevorrow, which was the first time I ever met him. We were at the craft-services table, and he said, “Be prepared: We’re going to shoot another one of these ‘World’ movies, and I think we’re going to ask you to do something in it with Sam and Laura.” It was like that scene in “The Exorcist,” when somebody comes up to Max von Sydow and gives him a note that says, “You’ve been summoned to do another exorcism.”
The return of Jurassic Park's iconic trio is a monumental decision for Jurassic World: Dominion, but The Exorcist fans also got quite the shock this year when it was announced a sequel to the 1973 film was in development. After David Gordon Green successfully rebooted the Halloween franchise in 2018, he was chosen to helm a new Exorcist trilogy that connects to William Friedkin's first movie. Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. is starring in the project, whose character reaches out to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) for help after his child is possessed by a demon. Burstyn has already filmed scenes for the sequel, but unfortunately, Linda Blair has confirmed she hasn't been approached to appear in The Exorcist 2.
Jurassic World: Dominion is a drastically different movie compared to The Exorcist, but it's humorous that Goldblum is comparing his return to the iconic horror film. Father Merrin is an elderly priest who agrees to perform an exorcism after stepping away from the practice, so the comparison does make sense since Goldblum hasn't had a large role in the franchise since 1997. Merrin doesn't survive the ritual attempting to get Pazuzu out of Regan, but hopefully Malcolm can make it out alive when he goes up against dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Dominion.
Source: The New York Times