Scarlett Johansson's Jurassic World Rebirth Role Is The Perfect Replacement For Jurassic Park's Best Character I've Wanted For 28 Years

The news that Jurassic World Rebirth’s Scarlett Johansson character is a lot like an earlier Jurassic Park franchise supporting star is music to my ears. SinceJurassic Park’s ending, the franchise has never quite been sure where to go next. Director Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1993 blockbuster adapted Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name to the big screen, but Jurassic Park’s self-contained story wasn’t crying out for a sequel by any means. The movie worked as a standalone outing and, even though Spielberg broke his own no-sequels rule to return to the series, its follow-up was a letdown.

1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park undeniably tried to do something new with the series, but its plot felt disjointed and messy. By Jurassic World: Dominion’s ending, the sequel seemed like a stone-cold classic in comparison. However, as Jurassic World Rebirth’s release date quickly approaches, it is fair to say that The Lost World: Jurassic Park is one of the better Jurassic Park follow-ups, if still an imperfect effort. One thing the sequel did get right was its memorable cast of supporting characters, including one which Jurassic World Rebirth’s heroine seems to borrow from.

Scarlett Johansson's Jurassic World Rebirth Character Explained

Zora Bennett Is A Covert Operations Expert

In Jurassic World Rebirth, Scarlett Johansson plays the covert operations expert Zora Bennet. Zora is tasked with leading a crack team of scientists, spies, soldiers, and smugglers into one of the last remaining dinosaur strongholds on Earth. Although most of the dinosaurs left alive when the Jurassic World trilogy ended have since perished, the few remaining dinosaurs have DNA that could prove key to eradicating diseases worldwide. Powerful people want access to this DNA, and it is Zora’s job to ensure her team gets it. That is until they run into a complication.

Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler stares in shock in Jurassic Park 1993

Jurassic Park’s First Trailer Is A Reminder Of Everything Wrong With The Jurassic World Trilogy (And How Rebirth Can Fix It)

The Jurassic World movies completely missed the point of Jurassic Park, as evidenced by the first trailer for Steven Spielberg's iconic blockbuster.

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Zora and her team encounter a group of vacationing tourists who have been stranded on the remote island and left at the mercy of its inhabitants. Since those inhabitants include Jurassic World Rebirth’s new hybrid dinosaur monsters, Johansson’s heroine can’t just leave them to perish. As such, Zora becomes an unlikely heroine in Jurassic World Rebirth when she and her team must divert their mission to save a civilian family, a story that may sound familiar to anyone who recalls The Lost World: Jurassic Park’s plot well.

The late, great Postlethwaithe instead imbues Tembo with surprising depth and humanity as the supporting star explains his complicated, unique moral code.

Bizarrely, Zora’s role appears to borrow from Pete Postlethwaithe’s scene-stealing role as Roland Tembo in that sequel. When he is first introduced, Tembo seems like the standard contemptible big game hunter seen in countless Hollywood movies, including the later Jurassic World sequel Fallen Kingdom. However, the late, great Postlethwaithe instead imbues Tembo with surprising depth and humanity as the supporting star explains his complicated, unique moral code to the heroes. Against the odds, Tembo becomes a minor hero as The Lost World: Jurassic Park’s story continues.

Johansson's Jurassic World Rebirth Role Feels Like The New Roland Tembo

Pete Postlethwaithe’s Hunter Was Unexpectedly Likable and Charismatic

jurassic world dominion perfect original cast return impossible

From the first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth, it was clear that Johansson’s character was unashamedly unscrupulous. She works with smugglers and soldiers of fortune and isn’t overly concerned about the ethics of her mission provided she can make the practicalities work. However, when push comes to shove, she will not leave a civilian family to die simply because this would be keep her plan on track. In this regard, she is a lot like Postlethwaithe’s unexpectedly charismatic antihero Tembo.

Johansson's Jurassic World Rebirth character borrows Tembo’s unique moral code, as she is willing to exploit the dinosaurs for her gain but respects them nonetheless. Like Tembo, she seems more invested in the thrill of the hunt than any financial recompense, and she is willing to help out other humans endangered by the dinosaurs, regardless of whether they are working with her or not. While Jurassic World Rebirth promises to revisit scenes that the original adaptation didn’t have the time or budget for, this character looks set to revive Tembo’s spirit once more.

Tembo Was Massively Underrated In The Lost World

Postlethwaithe’s Character Complicated The Franchise’s Straightforward Morality

Borrowing from Tembo’s character is a great idea for Jurassic World Rebirth, despite how much the earlier Jurassic World movies over-relied on callbacks to the original trilogy. For one thing, Roland Tembo is one of the most underrated Jurassic Park characters in either trilogy, so it is great to see his philosophy have an impact on the franchise. For another, borrowing from Tembo’s outlook is much subtler than Jurassic World; Dominion simply bringing back original cast members.

Tembo’s respect for his prey and his decision to help out his fellow humans even after they sabotage his hunt make him a morally complex character in a franchise filled with one-dimensional heroes and villains. As such, Jurassic World Rebirth revisiting this Jurassic Park character is an exciting, promising development for the reboot.