Jurassic World Rebirth is now in theaters, and if you’ve seen it, you probably felt a little manipulated by the end. Not in a bad way necessarily, but in a way that felt somehow satisfying and also disappointing. You guessed what was going to happen but also kind of hoped it didn’t. Well, it turns out there’s a very, very good reason and story behind that. So, we asked the film’s director, Gareth Edwards, about it. Major spoilers below
In Jurassic World Rebirth, as the group is getting ready to make their big escape, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) seemingly sacrifices himself to the D-Rex to allow everyone else to live. It’s a triumphant, heroic moment, but we don’t see him die. We just assume it. A few minutes later, when a red flare flies up into the sky, we know that Duncan has actually survived, and all is right with the world.
Watching the film, it seemed set up for Duncan to die, especially because we know he’s giving his life for the Delgado children, a link to past regrets with his own kids. It would’ve been a fair, character-driven sacrifice. But when the film doesn’t actually show him actually being eaten or mauled, anyone who has ever watched a movie figures he could be back. All of which makes sense when you know what happened behind the scenes.
“There was a draft where he died,” Edwards told io9 about Duncan’s fate. “And then as we pursued Mahershala, I think they felt like, ‘Well, this is a big deal actor. We would want him to hang around.’ So then it got changed to him living. And then, when I spoke to Mahershala, he actually brought up himself, like, ‘I think he should die.’ And I saw an opportunity, and I went, ‘I totally agree.’ Me and him sort of fought for that, and we got our way. So it flipped back to him dying.”
So Duncan died in the original script and was resurrected before shooting because they cast a two-time Oscar winner, but then, at the urging of Edwards and that Oscar winner, it got changed back. So how is it that the character ends up living in the movie?
“Then Universal, in their wisdom, kind of said, ‘Look, we haven’t got time for a pickup shoot or any reshoots or anything like this,” Edwards said. “Just get something while you’re out in Thailand that can cover for the fact if he lived. Just do it.’”
Yes, we are all on the same page here. “Now I was thinking, ‘I know how this works,’” Edwards continued. “If I shoot something, it’s going to end up in the movie. And so then I was like, ‘I’ve got to think of the really good version of him living and how that would work.’ And I tried to picture something, and then I started to fall in love with it and go, ‘Actually, I quite like that.’ And then we shot it, and I really liked everyone’s performance in it.”
However, Edwards later realized why the swerve worked so well. “I think why it works, if it does, and I wasn’t expecting this at all, but because everything is happening and has been put in there because we thought he would die—even like the final farewells and things like this—you go, ‘They only do this in movies when someone’s going to die.’ And we kept them all in,” he said. “I think the audience subconsciously has learned he’s a goner. And then, and then when he comes back, it’s actually surprising. The first time I watched it with an American audience was the other night at the premiere, and my favorite reaction in the whole film was when that flare went up behind Scarlett [Johansson’s character]. It was this big cheer and clap. And they already knew what was about to happen. And it was really lovely. I kind of nearly teared up. It was, Yeah, okay, I’m happy to be wrong there. I’m glad the studio told us to shoot that little extra piece.’”
So there you have the death, life, death, and life of Duncan Kincaid, played by Mahershala Ali, in Jurassic World Rebirth. It’s now in theaters.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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