Why Jake Johnson Couldn't Return For Jurassic World Dominion

Despite now encompassing more movies than the original "Jurassic Park" film trilogy, the "Jurassic World" franchise hasn't been quite as successful at establishing memorable characters. That's no shade to Chris Pratt or Bryce Dallas Howard, who do a fine job playing Owen Grady and Claire Dearing through the first three "Jurassic World" movies. It's simply true that those characters and the films' supporting players haven't entered the cinematic pantheon the way that Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) have. Need proof? Just look at how many classic "Jurassic Park" characters got brought back over the course of the initial "Jurassic World" trilogy, as if the newcomers in those movies couldn't carry the weight of their blockbuster budgets on their own.

To be sure, though, there have been some standout supporting performances in these films, most of them from 2015's "Jurassic World." You could point to Vincent D'Onofrio's turn as InGen security chief Vic Hoskins or "New Girl" alum Jake Johnson, who brings a healthy dose of comic relief to the movie as increasingly volatile Jurassic World control room officer Lowery Cruthers.

Johnson was making moves on the big screen after getting big on TV when "Jurassic World" came out, and there were plans for him to come back in the sequels. After missing out on 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," Johnson was meant to return for a small part in 2022's trilogy concluder, "Jurassic World Dominion." This time, however, life didn't find a way due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though "Jurassic World Dominion" didn't come out in theaters until 2022, it began filming just a matter of weeks before the COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect in early 2020. That led to a halt in production, and, when things resumed, a lot of safety measures had been put in place to ensure the wellness of everyone on set. As a result, some changes had to be made in terms of how many characters would appear in the film. This, in turn, led to the exclusion of Johnson's Lowery Cruthers, even though he'd been featured in earlier versions of the film's script.

"I was in it in [the] script, and I was going to go do it, but then the pandemic happened," as Johnson told Us Weekly in 2021. "I mean, it's fine. It was really disappointing." As he went on to explain, director Colin Trevorrow tried to figure out a way to keep Johnson in the movie, with the pair having previously worked together on both Trevorrow's breakout 2012 film "Safety Not Guaranteed" and the first "Jurassic World." (Notably, Trevorrow co-wrote but did not call the shots on "Fallen Kingdom," with J.A. Bayona replacing him while he developed his soon-to-be-abandoned version of "Star Wars: Episode IX.") Sadly, the pieces just didn't line up. "Colin honestly tried everything in his power to make it work, but it was really tricky with the quarantines and leaving home at that time," Johnson added.

It's obvious now the "Jurassic World" movies aren't going to stop coming any time soon. They've basically proven themselves to be guaranteed money-makers by this point, with the latest entry, 2025's "Jurassic World: Rebirth," having grossed over $800 million at the box office. That leaves opportunities in the future for supporting actors like Johnson to come back and reprise their supporting roles — something that's previously happened in the larger "Jurassic" franchise with actors like BD Wong.

That said, the "Jurassic World" movies currently seem more interested in telling new stories than lingering on the older ones. "Rebirth" even features an entirely new cast of characters, with no one returning from either the original "Jurassic Park" trilogy or the previous "Jurassic World" films. It also doesn't really set up a sequel, preferring to function as a standalone story instead. That does, admittedly, leave the future of the franchise a bit unclear, as Universal has yet to commit to any concrete plans for another film, much less a multi-movie narrative.

Still, the people love dinos, and dinos they shall have. Whenever that next "Jurassic World" comes out (and, rest assured, there will be one), there's still a chance that Johnson could be a part of it.