10 Movie Characters Who Should've Died (But Didn't)

7. Ian Malcolm - Jurassic Park

The Dark Knight Rises Christian Bale
Universal Pictures

As Jurassic Park's breakout character, Jeff Goldblum's iconic Ian Malcolm was the obvious choice when it came to leading future sequels. And so it came to pass, with Malcolm taking the lead in The Lost World. It wasn't always so predestined though; with Malcolm exiting Michael Crichton's original Jurassic Park in a body bag, dying from his T-Rex injuries.

But for Spielberg's softened blockbuster version, Malcolm (and Hammond, also a fatality in the novel) survived to fight another day, returning for a less-loved sequel (and then again, in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). His character even proved so popular that Crichton resurrected him for the novel upon which The Lost World is (loosely) based, hand-waving away his death so as to appease audiences.

Ian Malcolm, however, should have died in Jurassic Park. He's a shadow of his former self anyway for the movie's sequel(s), and would have been easily replaced by Doctor Grant or any other number of dino-phobic characters with a doctorate.

Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.