Jurassic World Dominion: Who are the new characters?

Chris Tilly
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Jurassic World Dominion has a big job on its hands, concluding the Jurassic World trilogy, and uniting that cast with the Jurassic Park characters. But as well as combining two sets of actors, there are several new characters joining the franchise.

The original Jurassic Park starred three actors who lit up the screen when opposite each other. They faced stiff competition from their prehistoric co-stars, but Sam Neill’s paleontologist, Laura Dern’s paleobotanist, and Jeff Goldblum’s mathematician more than held their own as sparks flew between the trio.

Jurassic World then gave us Chris Pratt’s Navy veteran-turned-animal behaviorist and Bryce Dallas Howard’s operations manager-turned-dinosaur protector, who had their own brand of chemistry.

And now Jurassic World Dominion brings us three new characters to help conclude the series.

Who are the new characters in Jurassic World Dominion?

Kayla Watts played by DeWanda Wise

A former military pilot, Kayla Watts now flies anyone, anywhere, as long as the money is right – meaning she’s ended up working in the criminal underworld.

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DeWanda Wise (with Chris Pratt) as Kyla Watts.

Speaking about the character, writer-director Colin Trevorrow said: “She’s pure adventure, but she’s also a woman who is coming to terms with how dark the world she’s gotten mixed up in actually is and wants a way out.

“She’s finding her moral compass again, remembering that looking away from something that you know is wrong is not enough.”

Co-writer Emily Carmichael compares the character to Indiana Jones, stating: “Kayla is a loner, a free agent, but with swagger. She comes from a world that’s different from any of the other characters because we meet her in an action-adventure setting… this exciting underground dinosaur marketplace.

“She makes her living there and is familiar and comfortable with it, which makes her this larger-than-life character of true adventure.”

Ramsay Cole played by Mamoudou Athie

Ramsay Cole is Head of Communications at Biosyn, the nefarious corporation at the heart of Jurassic World Dominion. Though he doesn’t initially appreciate the company’s bad intentions, which forces Cole to battle his own idealism.

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Mamoudou Athie as Ramsay Cole in Jurassic World Dominion.

Of the corporation, actor Mamoudou Athie says: “Biosyn is presented as this think tank with all of these young geniuses working for the advancement of humanity, but at the true core of it, Biosyn is completely motivated by greed and control.”

Soyona Santos played by Dichen Lachman

Soyona Santos provides a link between Biosyn and the world of underground dinosaur smuggling, though she pays other people to do her dirty work, with Santos never getting her hands dirty.

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Dichen Lachman in sci-fi series Altered Carbon.

Dichen Lachman – who plays Soyona – says of the character: “She’s tough, strong and determined. At the end of the day, she just wants to get the job done. There’s also a lot of ambiguity to the character. She’s given tasks, but otherwise, she’s a bit mysterious.”

Which characters are returning in Jurassic World Dominion?

Alongside Jurassic Park characters Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm, and Jurassic World mainstays Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, several characters are returning for Dominion.

BD Wong is back as Dr. Henry Wu, the genetic engineer responsible for bringing the dinosaurs back. Wu appeared in the original Jurassic Park as well as all the Jurassic World movies.

Returning from the more recent instalments is Omar Sy as dinosaur trainer Barry Sembenè, and Isabella Sermon as genetic clone Maisie Lockwood.

Jurassic World Dominion hits screens in the US and UK on June 10.

About The Author

Chris Tilly is the TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Newspaper Journalism, and over the last 20 years, he's worked for the likes of Time Out, IGN, and Fandom. Chris loves Star Wars, Marvel, DC, sci-fi, and especially horror, while he knows maybe too much about Alan Partridge. You can email him here: chris.tilly@dexerto.com.