Has Jenna Ortega been replaced?
Jenna Ortega’s impressive Hollywood status is showing no signs of wavering. Recent years have seen the now-21-year-old actress shoot to stardom after appearing in blockbusters such as Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023) and in the hit Netflix series Wednesday (2022 — present), which became a global phenomenon practically overnight.
Later this year, she’ll appear in the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024) from director Tim Burton and is also set to reprise her role as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday Season 2. But while the stars have certainly aligned for Ortega, over the past year there have also been some surprising twists and turns in her career that have seen her exit two massive franchises: first, Scream, and now, Jurassic World.
Far from a mystery like her exit from the upcoming sequel Scream 7, her departure from Jurassic World was a result of a “busy schedule” that made it “impossible” for her to reprise the role of Brooklynn, the showrunners behind the brand-new animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024), Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley, recently told IGN.
While there were hopes Jenna Ortega would eventually bring Brooklynn to life in live action on the big screen — perhaps in the upcoming seventh entry in the Jurassic film series — a new report about the film may have just dashed any chances of that ever happening. In other words, the star’s relationship with Jurassic may be well and truly extinct.
Jurassic World 4 (2025) suddenly seems to be moving forward with astonishing speed (a bit like a raptor, you could say). Filming is now underway on location in Thailand, so Universal Pictures’ targeted theatrical release date of July 2, 2025 is looking a lot more secure than InGen’s several miles of electrified fencing on Isla Nublar/Jurassic Park ever did.
Naturally, plot details remain in captivity, but with the script being penned by Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) scribe David Koepp, we’re hopeful they’ll deliver something special this time (despite the last two entries, Fallen Kingdom and Dominion, each grossing over $1B, they weren’t received particularly well by fans and critics).
Related: All 4 Upcoming ‘Jurassic Park’/’Jurassic World’ Sequels Explained
In fact, there’s a great deal of mystery surrounding the film, which is owed largely to a growing cast that includes Scarlett Johansson (the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), and Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), while Mahershala Ali (Leave the World Behind) is now in talks to join them.
Now, another star is set to enter the fold. Deadline reports that Luna Blaise, best known for the sci-fi thriller series Manifest (2018 — 2023), will join Jurassic World 4in a lead role.
With character details for all cast members also undisclosed, we can’t rule out the possibility that some may be playing existing characters. Previously, we talked about how Scarlett Johansson could be taking on the role of an established Jurassic alum like Lex Murphy (yes, we know — pure blasphemy), who was portrayed by Ariana Richards in Jurassic Parkand The Lost World.
That was nothing more than pure speculation, though, but the casting of Luna Blaise is rather curious. At 22, Blaise is just one year older than megastar Jenna Ortega, so it’s possible the Manifest star will play a live-action version of Ortega’s character Brooklynn from the hit Netflix animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022), who returns in Chaos Theory.
With rumors that Jurassic World 4 will feature “six leads,” half of whom will be “teenagers,” it’s possible one of them is Brooklynn (who knows — perhaps all three are Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory characters). On the other hand, the Jurassic film series is no stranger to introducing new young characters in almost every installment (Lex Murphy, Tim Murphy, Kelly Malcolm, Gray Mitchell, Maisie Lockwood, and so on).
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Official Sequel: Everything We Know
Either way, Jenna Ortega has already been replaced in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. Kiersten Kelly now voices Brooklynn, who’s been given a bit of a shady makeover in the new series. But is it possible Brooklynn has now been “recast” on the silver-screen side of the franchise, too? Is Ortega’s Jurassic career well and truly over?
With all that said, we still don’t know when Jurassic World 4 is set, and it may even wind up being a prequel that’s slotted between previous Jurassic installments. However, if it’s set after Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) or sometime after Jurassic World Dominion (2022), this would line up both actresses in terms of their age.
Of course, the odds are that Blaise is playing a completely new character, but until we know more, the franchise may finally be about to bring one of its animated characters into live action for the first time. And it would hardly be surprising to see Brooklynn get the big-screen treatment considering she’s currently the most talked-about character on the animated side of things.
In the Jurassic World: Chaos Theory finale, we learn that Brooklynn isn’t dead as the previous nine episodes teased. While she was indeed the victim of an Allosaurus attack (proof in the loss of her right arm), she has now become a somewhat shady self-made journalist who’s investigating the capturing of dinosaurs throughout North America.
Related: ‘Jurassic World 4’ Everything We Know: Plot, Cast, Release Date, Trailer, and News
Previous Jurassic Park/Jurassic World actors Chris Pratt (Owen Grady), Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), BD Wong (Henry Wu), Isabella Sermon (Maisie Lockwood), and DeWanda Wise (Kayla Watts), are not expected to return in the new film.
Jurassic World 4 is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), produced byPatrick Cowley and Frank Marshall (the Jurassic World trilogy), and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg (director of the first two movies and EP on the last four).
The film will be released in theaters on July 2, 2025.
Jenna Ortega will return in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Wednesday Season 2.
Would you like to see Brooklynn get the live-action treatment in the Jurassic World franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
