SCHEMING WITH DINOSAURS
It’s not just the heroes of Jurassic Park who return in the saga’s closer. An old villain is back with a new plan
SLIPPERIER THAN A Compsognathus, more cunning than a Baryonyx, with all the ethics of a giant heap of Triceratops dung, Jurassic World Dominion villain Lewis Dodgson might just prove to be a more formidable threat than anything with claws. Introduced in a single scene in Jurassic Park — “Dodgson! Dodgson! We’ve got Dodgson here!” cackled Wayne Knight’s Dennis Nedry at a Costa Rican café, before declaring, “See, nobody cares” — the shady boss of genetics company Biosyn is returning almost three decades later, with a significantly beefed-up role. He is older, more powerful. But it’s still a terrible idea to leave your dinosaur DNA anywhere near him.
“The way he bobs and weaves around people — you can tell he’s a calculator,” says director Colin Trevorrow. “But he probably isn’t great at parties.” Adds Campbell Scott, the actor taking over the role from the 1993 film’s Cameron Thor: “He will do anything to get people out of his way, or on his side, depending on who he meets.”
Dodgson’s original scheme, of course, was to steal dinosaur embryos from rival company Ingen via a can of shaving foam, a plot which triggered the implosion of Jurassic Park. Now, his ambitions are even bigger — and so are his resources. He runs Biosyn Valley, a sprawling tract of land housing a compound where not everything is at it seems. Returning heroes Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) will cross paths with him, in a bid to unravel his high-tech machinations.
Scott, whose performance in Big Night is beloved by Trevorrow, relished giving shades to the previously one-dimensional character, riffing on modern tech leaders. And unlike Dodgson, who views dinosaurs as merely avenues to profit, he fell in love with the animatronic beasts on set. “The Dilophosaurus — my favourite has to be him. Or her. It’s hard to tell. But he’s got the frills. And he’s got the sounds. I love that ‘Hrrrrr!’”
From a bit-part player in a straw hat to the Emperor Palpatine of the Jurassic franchise, Dodgson is back. And this time, everybody cares.