Jurassic World is back for the third film in the series -- sixth if you count the Jurassic Park films -- and this time, the dinosaurs are loose in society. This new change to the status quo has prompted a major corporation (Biosin) to take advantage of the science done in Jurassic World to make a profit, even if it comes at the cost of the environment, and, in turn, society. While the leads of the past Jurassic World films -- Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt -- work to protect Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the original Jurassic Park cast is going after the big corporation.
Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm is working with this corporation and has contacted Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler in hopes she will investigate and expose his boss, and she brings in Sam Neill's Alan Grant along with her to help. Once at the corporation, the two are greeted by Ramsay Cole (Mamoudou Athie), a representative for the big bad, Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott). There is more to Ramsay than meets the eye, however. With Jurassic World Dominion now in theaters, CBR had the chance to speak with Athie about his time on the film.
CBR: What was it like joining Jurassic World during this climactic third film for you?
Mamoudou Athie: Exciting beyond belief, and it's just surreal and bizarre and so fun.
Your character spends a lot of the film with the original cast, so I would love to know what it was like collaborating with these actors from the original Jurassic Park film?
I loved it. I learned a lot. I got to hang out with them and chat with them about their prior experiences. They told us the coolest stories about the first one, about how it was made and how insane it seemed. Just working with somebody like Sam [Neill] and Laura [Dern] and Jeff [Goldblum], you can't beat it, and it's like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially on this movie.
I can imagine! Do you have any favorite memories when it came to filming this movie that you can share with us?
That I can share with you is debatable, let me think... There are some good ones. Some of my special memories were off-set, as well. I remember Sam showing us this movie that he did. We're just talking about movies that we actually appreciate that we've done. It wasn't like he was just showing off. It was a beautiful movie called Dean's Family. We talked about it, and that really sticks with me because it really moved me, that movie and just his experience talking about it. This is really cool, and it's like, "Oh man, we're sharing this hotel together, and this is so bizarre, and we're getting to talk about films." It's a really cool memory for me.
That's awesome. Your character gets to tackle a lot of the bigger themes of this movie head-on, so I would love to know what do you hope people can learn from Jurassic World: Dominion after seeing this film?
I'm actually so curious what people learn from it. I have no real idea. I certainly don't want to force anything upon anyone, but I would hope people would at least feel the same way that I did after watching and reading the script. There's a kind of virtuousness in all these movies and a lot of these characters. They're all flawed, but there comes a moment where you have to ask yourself, "What is the right thing to do?" I hope that that is apparent for the people watching.
Wrapping this up, with the story no longer restricted to Jurassic World, what were you most excited to see, as we got to see these dinosaurs enter society? Was there anything that you really wanted to see in this film going forward?
In the future?
In this film. Now that the dinosaurs are no longer on the island, what excited you the most about this opportunity?
I think there's the hope with Biosin that we can use this DNA to help humanity in a different kind of way. It sounds self-serving, and it is, but I think there are a lot of things that can be used in terms of, at least within the science of the movie, genetic advancement and just general health for the society of the globe. And dinosaurs exist. That's pretty cool.
Jurassic World Dominion is in theaters now.
