Jeff Goldblum Dishes On His Return As Ian Malcolm In 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'
If you ever ask Jeff Goldblum a question expecting a straight answer, well, you haven't seen any of the Thor: Ragnarok marketing which revolves around the mile-a-minute talker giving dramatic readings of Twitter questions and getting hilariously sidetracked.
So when I say he gives more details about his return as the famously bare-chested mathematician Ian Malcolm in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I mean details in the loosest way. Goldblum barely even confirms that the chaos mathematician is returning for the Jurassic World sequel, even though we know it to be true. So be prepared for the most Goldblum-y answer to questions about what Ian Malcolm has been up to, and whether he's learned to button a shirt. Hit the jump to learn more about Jeff Goldblum on Jurassic World 2 and Ian Malcolm's return.
Let's play a game of: Is Jeff Goldblum being tight-lipped about reprising the role of Ian Malcolm, or is he just talking out of his ass? Either way, it leaves for a highly enjoyable interview with Radio Times, with which he shared his upcoming role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom:
"Ian Malcolm, yes, might be back in this one, and he might have something to say about the current confluence of circumstances around the use and misuse of technology. With some wry irony, deep wise passionate conviction, and he might put on a nice dark bit of clothing here and there ... and a tint of glass maybe."
So Goldblum knows that the cult appeal of his character in Jurassic Park was his tinted sunglasses and the fact that he looked like he walked out of New York Fashion Week. (I know that's why I loved him.) But there is a hint of an answer in there — that Malcolm will be back to warn the creators of Jurassic World about "the use of misuse of technology," repeating his words of caution from 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park II. But it's obvious that no one listened then, and probably no one will listen to them now.
But Malcolm probably hasn't spent the last 20 years stewing over the fact that everyone heeded his wise words of advice. Goldblum jokes that perhaps art imitates life, and Malcolm became a jazz musician — aping Goldblum's own side gig as a jazz pianist at the Rockwell club in L.A. every week. (Yes, really.) Goldblum says:
"What's he been in the meantime? He opened a jazz club, probably, and he's been playing every Wednesday in a place called Rockwell. He calls it Rockwell."
While Goldblum won't reveal what Malcolm has actually been doing in between franchises, I like to assume that Ian Malcolm saw La La Land once and has become an ardent jazz club owner. It would be nice if he finally found a vocation that finally matches his stylish wardrobe.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be directed by J.A. Bayona, with Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and B. D. Wong set to reprise their roles from Jurassic World. Fallen Kingdom will open in theaters on June 22, 2018.