In this brief article I share an unexpected video message from a Jurassic Park/Jurassic World cast member.
I recently celebrated my 30th birthday which is rather crazy to consider. Jurassic Park also recently celebrated its 30th anniversary this past June as well. My favourite film of all time, I decided to celebrate the 30th anniversary film milestone by writing an article about the films legacy, which you can read here.
If you have read the title of this article and recognise the reference to the 2003 videogame Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, you will most certainly know who this article is about.
Unexpectedly, my sister got me a special message for my birthday from none other than BD Wong who plays Dr. Henry Wu in Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion. I could not upload the full video on Twitter but you can watch the first couple of minutes of the message below.
I have always enjoyed BD Wong’s performance in the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise. Dr. Henry Wu is a very interesting side character in the Jurassic films and the novel by Michael Crichton that the films are based off.
In the films Dr. Henry Wu is the chief geneticist working for INGEN then Masrani Global, Lockwood Estate, and eventually Biosyn Genetics. Henrys character journey throughout the films is an engaging one.
In Jurassic Park he was one of the senior geneticists working on bringing back dinosaurs to be used in a theme park setting. His character role is only minor in the the first film, only appearing in the laboratory scene but Wu returns for all three Jurassic World films with an interesting character arc throughout.
In Jurassic World Wu is arrogant and blinded by ambition wanting scientific merit at any cost. He does not recognise his own scientific flaws and instead sees them as not his. He does not take any responsibility for the deaths caused by his creation of the Indominus Rex.
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Dr. WU is stripped of his credentials and found guilty of bioethical misconduct. We find out he is now working for Eli Mills at the Lockwood Estate creating Indoraptor prototypes. Wu raises concerns about the current iteration of the Indoraptor which is violent, lacks obedience, and empathy.
Wanting to use Blues DNA to help with the creation of a more obedient version and more manageable. He worries about the prototype being sold, and the other genetic companies and black market dealers being able to have the ability to create their own versions.
Wu still shows little sign of regret if any, for the disastrous events of Jurassic World (2015) and no concern is shown at all for the treatment of the dinosaurs at Lockwood Estate after being moved from Isla Nublar.
By Jurassic World: Dominion his character has had a major breakdown. He now works for Biosyn Genetics and recognises the damage that the Biosyn locust programme (Hexapod Allies) has caused (potential global famine) and wants to try and fix the mistakes he made. Using Maisie’s and Beta’s DNA to fix the locusts, he releases a locust to deliver the viral payload to eradicate the already released locusts in a single generation.
Wu’s story in the films is quite different to his character journey in the Jurassic Park novel, where he ultimately meets his demise at the claws of Velociraptors. The Wu in the novel believes the dinosaurs could be improved making them more docile, slower and easier to handle.
He worries about the publics perception of the dinosaurs once Jurassic Park opens, that the public may not like dinosaurs they have created. These worries are waved away by John Hammond and Wu is left feeling unheard.
Both the film franchise and original novel offer slightly different interpretations of Henry Wu but the character has appeared in other media beside the book and big screen. WU has appeared in Lego Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar, video games Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, Jurassic World: Evolution 1 and Jurassic World Evolution 2, audio appearances in Jurassic World: Aftermath, and tour videos for Jurassic World: The Ride and Velocicoaster among other appearances.
Michael Crichton made Henry Wu an integral side character in helping Jurassic Park achieve its goals of bringing back dinosaurs from extinction. The Jurassic World films used the small scene of Wu in Jurassic Park as a connection to Jurassic Parks legacy, whilst building off it and developing WU’s character journey whilst also taking the Jurassic World franchise in a dynamic direction.
Getting a personalised message from the actor who plays the character in the film franchise feels pretty meaningful and timely given Jurassic Park’s 30th anniversary and the legacy the first film has.
Discover more from James Ronan Palaeontologist
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