Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cut a key character’s lesbian reveal
Daniella Pineda interview Yahoo Entertainment June 18, 2018. (Yahoo Entertainment video)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was set to feature a lesbian character, new star Daniella Pineda has revealed.
Pineda plays a paleo-veterinarian, Dr Zia Rodriguez, who makes the dangerous journey to Isla Nublar in the new dino sequel.
Joining the star-studded cast featuring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, Pineda revealed in a recent Yahoo Entertainment chat that her character was going to reveal that she was a lesbian.
The scene would have happened quite early on in the film, the actress said in the interview.
Pineda describes the scene as featuring her and Owen (Pratt) driving in a military vehicle together alongside a bunch of mercenaries. They are on a rescue mission to Jurassic World to evacuate some of the dinosaurs before a volcano erupts.
Daniella Pineda as Dr. Zia Rodriguez in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal Studios)
As Owen and Zia are still getting to know each other in this part of the film, Pineda explains, “I look at Chris and I’m like: ‘Yeah, square jaw, good bone structure, tall, muscles. I don’t date men, but if I did, it would be you. It would gross me out, but I’d do it.’”
Pineda joked about how she was “looking at Chris Pratt, the hottest guy in the world, and I’m like, ‘It would gross me out, but I guess I would do it!’ It was also cool because it was a little insight into my character. But they cut it.”
Pineda said the creative team of director J.A. Bayona and co-writer/producer Colin Trevorrow wanted her character to reveal her sexuality but had to make the decision to nix the scene as the original cut of the film was too long.
Daniella Pineda as Dr. Zia Rodriguez in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (Universal Studios)
“Originally the cut was two hours and 40 minutes, and they were like, ‘This is too long,’” the actress told Yahoo, adding that the producers felt the scene wasn’t “relevant to the story, but it was a little glimmer into who she is.”
We’ll just have to wait for the next Jurassic World film, set to hit screens in 2021, to see if they add a love interest for Dr Zia.
Pineda said she would love to see it happen. “I’d like to see more of that, especially in big-ass movies!”
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is in cinemas now.
