A few years ago, the name Jenna Ortega wouldn’t have made much of an impression on anyone. But now, she’s a huge household name, thanks to her appearances in the last two Scream sequels, which grossed a combined $308M against their $57 — 59M budget, and the phenomenal Netflix hit series Wednesday (2022 — present), which became the second most-watched English language-speaking series and won fourPrimetime Emmy Awards.
But there’s one massive franchise the star recently exited, which is surprising considering it’s bigger than the Scream movies and Wednesday combined. In film, Jurassic Park/Jurassic World has grossed over $6B worldwide. On the small screen, it’s not quite as successful, but the Netflix animated television series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022) proved so popular with viewers that a brand-new series is now set to follow.
Related: ‘Jurassic World’ Sequel Trailer Breakdown
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory
While the upcoming Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024)brings with it a new banner, it’s still the sixth series in the Camp Cretaceous universe. The first five seasons star Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula), Ryan Potter (Kenji Kon), Raini Rodriguez (Sammy Gutierrez), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), and Jenna Ortega (Brooklynn). But sadly, its most famous star won’t be returning for the new series.
The first clue came about when Jenna Ortega’s name was missing from the Chaos Theory cast list on Netflix. Then, the third trailer dropped, which revealed that her character Brooklynn will be killed off in the new series, while DeadlineandEntertainment Weekly confirmed that the actress had indeed left the series. Check out the trailer in question, which seemingly features a new voice-over for the character, per Jurassic World YouTube:
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There have been three trailers for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory so far, but now, a new clip has surfaced that shows Darius Bowman and Ben Pincus battling Atrociraptors — the speedy, remote-controlled dinosaurs from the Malta sequence in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion (no point in rolling your eyes at “remote-controlled dinosaurs” — Camp Cretaceous has laser-guided robot dogs…). Check it out below, per Netflix After School:
Related: ‘Wednesday’ Star May Lead All-New Cast in ‘Jurassic World 4’
Unsurprisingly, Ortega’s Brooklynn is nowhere to be seen. But despite what the third trailer tells us from the offset, it’s more than likely the teen vlogger has survived (let’s not forget that Camp Cretaceous Season 1 tried to convince us that Ben died after falling from the Jurassic World monorail).
Either way, Ortega has officially exited the series and, therefore, will not be reprising her role, which means that a new actor has already taken over.
It’s unclear who’s voicing Brooklynn in the trailer, but it doesn’t sound like Ortega. The Netflix cast details currently only list Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), and Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula). As such, it’s possible Sammy Gutiérrez and Kenji Kon, who are voiced by Raini Rodriguez and Ryan Potter, respectively, in Camp Cretaceous, have also been recast. But we’ll just have to wait and see.
Related: ‘Jurassic World’ Sequel Seemingly Gets Early 2024 Release, Will Likely Recast Returning Legacy Characters
There could be many reasons why Jenna Ortega isn’t returning for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. Scheduling conflicts, salary disputes, who knows. Fortunately, she will be reprising her role as the titular Addams Family teen in Wednesday Season 2 (TBA). She’ll also be appearing in the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024) later this year.
Here’s the official synopsis for Chaos Theory:
Set six years after the events at Camp Cretaceous, members of “The Nublar Six” are struggling to find their footing off the islands, navigating a world now filled with dinosaurs and people who want to hurt them.
Reunited in the wake of a tragedy, the group comes together only to find themselves on the run and catapulted into a global adventure to unravel a conspiracy that threatens dinosaur and humankind alike and finally learn the truth about what happened to one of their own.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theorystars Paul-Mikél Williams (Darius Bowman), Sean Giambrone (Ben Pincus), and Kausar Mohammed (Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula). It streams on Netflix on May 24. Camp Cretaceousseasons 1 — 5 and the interactive adventure experienceHidden Adventureare now streaming onNetflix.
There are currently four Jurassic Park/Jurassic World sequels in development, including Chaos Theory and Jurassic World 4 (2025).
Are you a fan of Jenna Ortega? Will you be watching Jurassic World: Chaos Theory without her? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
