Jurassic World has a ton of winks and nods to the original trilogy of Jurassic Park films, so it’s no surprise that fans are digging deep to try and find more hidden links.
One particular fan theory has been making the rounds recently, and I have to say, it’s pretty damn smart.
In the original Jurassic Park, there’s a scene early on where Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill’s character) is discussing Velociraptor fossils with volunteers at his dig site. A snotty little kid doesn’t think they’re very cool though, and jokes that they look more like “6-foot turkeys.”
Dr. Grant doesn’t take too kindly to this, and proceeds to scare the living shit out of that kid using a raptor claw. Needless to say, that boy walks away with a newfound appreciation for dinosaurs. Here’s that scene:
So the fan theory goes that this event was a huge moment in that kid’s life. From that day forward, he didn’t just respect raptors, he became obsessed with them, becoming an expert on the dinosaur species.
When Jurassic World opened up, he applied for a job, and was recruited to oversee the Velociraptor breeding program.
Basically, the idea is that Chris Pratt’s character is that obnoxious little boy from the first Jurassic Park, having been inspired by Dr. Grant to pursue the study of dinosaurs. Two decades later, he’s now raising the very species that scared the crap out of him as a kid.
So how does this theory hold up?
Pretty well actually.
In the original movie, that kid wasn’t ever named outright (he’s credited as “Volunteer Boy”), so Pratt’s character Owen Grady isn’t automatically disqualified right off the bat. Additionally, the actor who portrayed that boy (Whit Hertford) is now 36 years old. Chris Pratt meanwhile is 35. Since Jurassic World is set in real time, 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, the ages line up almost perfectly.
The juiciest bit of evidence for this theory though is the fact that in Jurassic Park, Dr. Grant tells the kid to “show a little respect.” In Jurassic World, Owen states that his relationship with the Velociraptors is based on “respect.”
The idea has been bouncing around for a little while now, so Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm just went ahead and asked Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow if there was any truth to the theory. He replied:
“I’m not sure I want to answer because the speculation is so much fun. Let’s not kill the fun.”
For his part though, the actor who played the kid in the original movie doesn’t think too highly of the theory, although his opinion is just a little biased:
