Jurassic Park is, without a doubt, my personal favourite movie. Every time I see the helicopter approaching Isla Nublar, a massive smile appears on my face. But the biggest thing about the 1993 epic that has stuck with me, along with fans around the world, is the characters that are so beautifully fleshed out. The trio – Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm – were the driving force of what made Jurassic Park so great. Fast forward to 2018 and Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm was the first of the original group of heroes to return to the revived Jurassic World franchise with Fallen Kingdom.

While small, Malcolm’s role in the film was impactful enough that fans have been clamoring for me and now, we may all get that wish of seeing these classic characters brought back into the fold. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom writer Colin Trevorrow (who has signed on to write and direct Jurassic World 3) recently sat down with MTV’s Seen It, Spill It and on the episode, he hinted that more beloved characters would return to the franchise:

“We felt like this was [Ian] Malcolm’s return, this was his moment…let him have his moment. I feel that way about everyone, especially Laura [Dern] in that she never got to have her own movie. That, I identified as being something that’s important. And this moment with Goldblum, because he had this very clear set of ethical questions that he was able to pose for everybody, we just wanted to put the spotlight on him [Goldblum].”

Based on these comments, it would seem that Trevorrow is keen on giving Laura Dern’s iconic character the proper spotlight she deserves. With everyone assuming that the next film will round out the current trilogy, it would make sense if Dern’s character makes her triumphant return. And with the way Fallen Kingdom ended, there really are about a million reasons why Ellie would come back.

So, where does that leave Sam Neil’s Alan Grant? When asked about the idea that fans would feel “robbed” if they didn’t see him in the third film, Trevorrow said:

“I totally agree with that. I would feel robbed too.”

Well, all signs seems to all three characters having some role to play in the third Jurassic World film. Fallen Kingdom was very heavy on the franchise’s nostalgia and from this interview alone, Trevorrow looks to be continuing this trend. Bringing the original trio back into the fold would be a nice way to tie the series together as the Jurassic World side only has minimal references to the first three films. That being said, while the JW series has not fared well with all critics, seeing Grant, Sattler and Malcolm back together again would be quite the sight. We’ll just have to wait and see how this all comes together…

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is in theatres everywhere now