Jurassic World brought back several characters from the original series, but it missed the chance to have a perfect Jurassic Park III legacy character return. While Jurassic Park III may not be the most well-remembered entry in the Jurassic Park franchise, the film introduced a character that could masterfully bridge the gap between the old and new series. Although the Jurassic World movies bringing back characters like Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm was fun, the revival really should have seen the return of this Jurassic Park III character.
The Jurassic World trilogy has wrapped up with the release of Jurassic World: Dominion, with the third film uniting franchise characters new and old. While the Jurassic World movies do feature a lot of nostalgic moments, they are pretty much all references to the original Jurassic Park film, with the series mostly ignoring The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III. This kind of makes sense, as the two sequels to the original Jurassic Park aren’t nearly as well-remembered as the 1993 original. However, ignoring Jurassic Park III means that the Jurassic World movies missed out on their best opportunity for a returning character.
Jurassic World Should Have Brought Back Eric
While the characters that Jurassic World did bring back are fun, the Jurassic World trilogy should really have brought back Eric Kirby. Eric Kirby is a character that is introduced in Jurassic Park III, with him being one of the civilians that become stranded on Isla Sorna after a parasailing accident. Jurassic Park III almost entirely revolves around Eric, with the Kirbys’ research trip turning out to be a rescue mission for Eric. Eric makes it out of Jurassic Park III alive, with the 12-year-old boy being reunited with his parents at the end of the film. Eric hasn’t returned since his Jurassic Park III appearance, but he should have.
Eric Kirby would have been the perfect character to return in Jurassic World, as his character and story lend themselves perfectly to the franchise’s second trilogy. Eric Kirby was incredibly interested in dinosaurs, with the child having even read Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm’s books on the Jurassic Park incident. It’s not too far-fetched to believe that Eric Kirby would be working at Jurassic World after the events of Jurassic Park III, meaning that it would have made perfect sense to see him return in the film. Eric still would be a young adult by the time Jurassic World took place, making his return even better.
Eric Could’ve Linked The Two Jurassic Eras Together
Another benefit of bringing Eric Kirby back in Jurassic World is that it would have perfectly linked the two eras of the Jurassic Park franchise together. Jurassic World mostly skips The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, making the cohesion between the two trilogies feel pretty choppy. However, bringing Eric Kirby back would have directly linked Jurassic World with the previous film, making it feel more like a continuation of the entire Jurassic Park series rather than the beginning of a completely separate Jurassic World trilogy.
On top of that, Eric Kirby’s return in Jurassic World would have felt a lot more natural than some of the other returning Jurassic Park characters. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as well as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler in Jurassic World: Dominion feel kind of wedged in. Their inclusion isn’t natural at all, with the story reason for their returns clearly just being an excuse to bring back nostalgic characters. Eric Kirby, on the other hand, would easily fit into the story of Jurassic World due to where his character was left off in Jurassic Park III.
Eric Would’ve Been A Better Jurassic World Main Character Than Owen Grady
Even better than just being a returning character, Eric Kirby should have actually been the main character of the Jurassic World trilogy. This title is currently held by Owen Grady, who is basically what a grown-up Eric Kirby would be like. However, Eric’s tumultuous relationship with dinosaurs after Jurassic Park III would have lent itself to a more interesting dynamic than Owen’s role of simply being a raptor trainer. All Jurassic World had to do was swap out Owen Grady’s name for Eric Kirby, and it wouldn’t have to make much else. Sadly, Eric Kirby’s character was completely ignored in Jurassic World, hurting the franchise as a whole.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
