'It was the most natural thing to do, focus on Claire at the same level that Owen,' director J. A. Bayona teases.
- Jun 5, 2018
AceShowbiz - "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" will focus more on Bryce Dallas Howard's character, Claire Dearing.
The highly anticipated film is the sequel to 2015's "Jurassic World", which also sees Chris Pratt reprise his role as Owen Grady and will this time be directed by J. A. Bayona. The Spanish director was aware that the previous movie was accused of sexism by many critics following its release, with several reviews mocking the fact that Bryce was required to wear high heels throughout the action-packed story. As a result, he decided to put more focus on her character this time around and give her a more central role in the plot.
"Of course, there was a lot of criticism on the first movie, and we all were very aware of it," he detailed in an interview with Den of Geek. "But, for me, it was (a) natural thing to give more to the character of Claire because all my movies, I always had a female character in the centre. So for me it was the most natural thing to do, focus on Claire at the same level that Owen."
"Sometimes, just replacing the lead character for a woman instead of a man, suddenly the story gets better," the 43-year-old added.
Though "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" will not hit cinemas worldwide until later this month, Bayona has been lucky enough to watch the film amongst movie lovers at the world premiere in Madrid on May 21. And given the crowd's reaction, he predicts that the picture will get a positive reception when it makes its debut.
"The audience reacted so well and we had a great, warm welcome," he smiled. "And you know, these movies are made to be enjoyed with more people in the room. I had a lot of fun, especially in the last section of the movie when the whole thing turns into this horror film. It was a lot of fun."
