Jake Johnson had been rumored to be cast in Jurassic World for a while, and the actor has now confirmed it.
Speaking to The Huffington Post after last night’s eventful episode of New Girl, Jake Johnson was asked about his involvement in Jurassic World.
“Absolutely,” Johnson said when asked if he joined Jurassic World because it is being directed by his Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow. “Now, I’m also a huge fan of Jurassic Park. When I was growing up and Jurassic Park came out, I freaked out like every other kid. I was born in ’78, so I was, like, 12. If it wasn’t Colin and someone said they wanted me in Jurassic Park, I would jump on it. The fact that it’s Colin, written by Derek Connolly (who wrote Safety Not Guaranteed) and both those guys are personal friends, I’d go through a wall.”
The news had never been officially confirmed, but Johnson’s word now makes his involvement essentially official.
Johnson’s arrival only makes the cast more exciting. Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt will lead the cast with The Help star Bryce Dallas Howard. Other cast members include Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, and Omar Sy.
Director Trevorrow also recently revealed that original Jurassic Park cast member BD Wong would reprise his role.
“This hasn’t been announced yet, but BD Wong will be returning as Dr. Henry Wu,” Trevorrow told IGN. “He had a much larger role in the original novel, he was the engineer of this breakthrough in de-extinction. He spent two decades living in Hammond’s shadow, underappreciated. We think there’s more to his story.”
While the Jurassic World cast is taking shape, we do not yet know what the plot of the new film will be, as details are being heavily guarded. The June 12, 2015 release date is still pretty far off, so we’ll learn more in time.