Sam Neill Drops the “Reboot” Bomb Regarding Jurassic Park IV

I have a pet theory. Well, it’s really more of a faith-based conjecture ungrounded in any evidence that I refuse to abandon. And it is that Sam Neill was brought back to the franchise for Jurassic Park III in the same way that his character was convinced to go back to Jurassic Park. They told him it was for something else and then flew him out there and didn’t let him leave until he’d made the movie/rescued that kid.

Glad to see they won’t be putting the actor through that for Jurassic Park IV.

Jurassic Park IV has been put on hold for undisclosed reasons (maybe their dinosaur supervisor quit?), but despite that, the flames of nostalgia run high, even within this very blog. It’s to be expected that Sam Neill, as the star of two thirds of the franchise, would still be asked about the new movie, no matter how tangential his relationship to it. He frightened a lot of nerds, however, when he used the fabled word “reboot.” From New Zealand’s Dominion Post:

As well as confirming that he is unlikely to be a part of next year’s Jurassic Park 4 (“I’m told it’s a big reboot, a total re-jig”), Neill confesses he hasn’t seen the new version of the original.

Now, before you panic, it’s unlikely that the actor means reboot in the way that it’s usually used. After all, the production is still calling itself Jurassic Park IV, no renumbering involved. What he means is probably that they’re not planning on bringing back any of the old actors or characters, starting fresh with some very old animals. That’s what the twenty-year-old Jurassic Park franchise obviously needs: is a hot, contemporary property to make it relevant to today’s audience. I nominate a crossover with Parks and Recreation. But that’s just a faith-based conjecture.

(via /Film.)