Steven Spielberg’s groundbreakingJurassic Parkfranchise has fans of all ages, including children, despite the movies featuring some brutal deaths. TheJurassic Parktimelinebegins before the age of smartphones, but as technology has moved forward, so have the movies. Some of themost powerful dinosaurs in theJurassic Parkfranchise’s recent films are not based on real-life dinosaurs, but terrifying hybrid animals. There are now sixJurassic Parkmovies, with a seventh scheduled for July 2025. While the more recent movies have used CGI heavily, the next may return to the practical approach of the originalJurassic Park.
The first installment used CGI sparingly, with many of its dinosaurs being realistic animatronics. Unlike many movie franchises that began in the 1990s, many ofJurassic Park’s special effects still hold up today, making them exciting (and occasionally terrifying) to any audience.The originalJurassic Parkbridged the gap between the action-adventure and horror genres,giving audiences a compelling story that became very disturbing at times. While many ofJurassic Park’s fan-favorite characters are still alive, some of the most iconic scenes in the franchise involve characters dying in ways that are hard to forget.
10Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight)
Jurassic Park
Dennis Nedry’s horrific ending is one of thebest deaths in theJurassic Parkfranchisefor several reasons. The first movie set the scene for the series that was to come, but upon first viewing, the story was completely unpredictable. Every moment of the scene introduces an unexpected element, from Dennis crashing his jeep to him trying to play fetch with the Dilophosaurus. Dennis' cluelessness makes the scene surprisingly funny, until the dinosaur attacks.
Dennis’s bright yellow rain jacket and the Dilophosaurus' appearance are both striking, and Dennis’s dying screams are haunting. That said, the scene is unforgettable for another reason.Most of theJurassic Parkmovies tend to give their villainous characters a fitting ending, and Dennis' actions are the catalyst for the movie’s events. As this includes all the subsequent deaths and dinosaur escapes inJurassic Park, Dennis' death is satisfying but horrifying.
9Dieter Stark (Peter Stormare)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Dieter Stark is one ofJurassic Park’s most callous villains, and he meets his end in trueJurassic Parkstyle, at the hands of an unlikely dinosaur. While the T-Rex and Velociraptors have been responsible for some of the scariest death scenes in the franchise, the tiny pack-hunting Compsognathus (Compys) have their moment when taking down Dieter. Dieter was a part of the hunting party sent to capture dinosaurs on Isla Sorna, and he made the mistake of underestimating the smaller ones.
Dieter uses an electric cattle prod to try and herd the dinosaurs, including the Compys, but while he is easily able to take on one at a time, an entire pack quickly becomes deadly. When Dieter is separated from his group, the Compys hunt him down. Seeing the villainous Dieter gradually succumbing to the Compys' venom before they tear him apart off-camera is an unforgettable spectacle and another fitting end for one ofJurassic Park’s human villains.
8Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan)
Jurassic World
Simon Masrani’s death is one of the few memorableJurassic Parkfranchise deaths not caused by a dinosaur. The Jurassic World founder appears to be a similar kind of person to John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), with more interest in the spectacle of the dinosaur attractions than the practical considerations. Still, although he begins to learn from his mistakes during his conversation with Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), it is too little, too late, as Masrani dies while trying to make amends.
Complete Jurassic Park & World Timeline Explained
Starting 65-million years ago, the timeline of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World spans 29 years and includes 6 movies and Netflix’s Camp Cretaceous.
Masrani has an unrealistically high opinion of his skills. Though he is a terrible helicopter pilot and has no military training, he volunteers to take a helicopter in an attempt to destroy the rogue Indominus Rex.When the Indominus Rex crashes into the aviary, the escaped Pteranodons hit the helicopter and Masrani loses control, hitting the ground and exploding. Though Masrani was flawed and idealistic, he is one of theJurassic Parkcharacters who did not deserve to die.
7Ray Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson)
TheJurassic Parkmovies tend to imply the violence in a character’s death rather than show the full scene, which allows the franchise to retain its relatively young audience certificates. The computer engineerRay Arnold’s fate is technically unknown, butJurassic Parkgives a clue as to his grim ending by showing his severed arm, implied to have been detached by Velociraptors. This is one of the goriest scenes in a movie with a young fanbase, and many fans will remember the moment forever.
Samuel L. Jackson played Mr. Arnold beforePulp Fictionmade him a household name, and the role was supposed to be slightly larger, with an on-camera death scene. Instead, Mr. Arnold’sJurassic Parkdeath scene was cut. Though Mr. Arnold is confirmed to be dead,Samuel L. Jackson joked that hisJurassic Parkcharacter was alive. He told theHappy Sad Confused podcast: “He’s somewhere riding around on Velociraptors with one arm.”
6Lewis Dodgson (Cameron Thor)
Jurassic World: Dominion
Dennis Nedry and Lewis Dodgson appear in just one scene together inJurassic Park, but they share similar deaths. Dodgson is one of the main antagonists of theJurassic Parkfranchise, though he only appears in person inJurassic ParkandJurassic World: Dominion. His past is relatively mysterious, but when he returns to the franchise as the CEO of Biosyn, he is a powerful enemy. Dodgson’s lack of morality and accountability left viewers waiting for a satisfying death for him, which they got eventually.
The Dilophosaurus is one of thedinosaurs that are scarier than theJurassic Parkmoviesshow. However, after Dennis is killed by one, they are not seen in real life again untilJurassic World: Dominion. After Dodgson’s genetically engineered locusts cause a forest fire, he stumbles into a nest of Dilophosaurus. As viewers now know what to expect from these dinosaurs, the death is even more memorable, with all three of them killing Dodgson.
5Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero)
Some ofJurassic Park’s most unforgettable deaths have a comedic streak. Dennis Nedry’s death is one; another is the ending of the cowardly and opportunistic Donald Gennaro. Gennaro is so distracted by the possibility of making a profit that he ignores the concerns of the dinosaur experts. This sets him up as an unsympathetic character, though not an antagonist. When Gennaro leaves the children in the car when the T-Rex attacks, it is clear that he is likely to die imminently.
Jurassic Park Completely Ruined 1 Original Book Character
Jurassic Park’s film adaptation completely ruined Donald Gennaro’s character, deviating from the compelling figure in the book, and here’s why.
Jurassic Park’s most ridiculous sceneis whenthe T-Rex eats Gennaro while he is sitting on the toilet, having tried to hide in an outhouse. This bears a surprising similarity to his death in the novel, in which he dies of dysentery. The decision to change Gennaro from a responsible and intelligent character to a sleazy opportunist was controversial among fans of the original novel, but his movie death is undeniably memorable.
4Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff)
Many of the most noteworthy deaths in theJurassic Parkfranchise are those of the villainous characters, but Eddie’s ending is considerably different. Eddie Carr is the equipment specialist in Ian Malcolm’s (Jeff Goldblum) Isla Sorna team, and when the RV containing Ian, Sarah (Julianne Moore), and Nick (Vince Vaughn) is pushed off the cliff by the T-Rexes, Eddie rushes to help. Though he has the chance to escape his car when the T-Rexes return, he stays until his last moment.
Eddie’s death is one of the most gruesome in theJurassic Parkfranchise, as the two T-Rexes pull him from his car and have a tug-of-war with his body, which results in Eddie being torn in half. Eddie’s attempt to save his team makes him one of thebravest characters in theJurassic Parkmovies. Though manyJurassic Parkdeaths are quickly forgotten by the characters (if not by the viewers), Ian angrily defends Eddie’s memory when Roland (Pete Postlethwaite) makes a bad-taste joke about his death.
3Zara Young (Katie McGrath)
One of themost horrifying deaths in theJurassic Parkfranchiseis doubtlessly Zara Young’s inJurassic World. The first threeJurassic Parkmovies mostly featured the same dinosaurs, thoughJurassic Park IIItried to bring in the new and more terrifying Spinosaurus. That said,Jurassic Worldbrought several new creatures to the franchise, which made one of the otherwise forgettable minor characters into an iconwhen she is killed by two at the same time.
Zara is Claire’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) detached personal assistant, who is unable to effectively keep an eye on her nephews. Still, being disinterested is her worst crime, and she does not deserve her gruesome fate. Zara is picked up by a Pteranodon, which drops her into the lagoon, just as the Mosasaurus lunges out of the water, taking down the Pteranodon, with Zara in its jaws. This death is the most shocking inJurassic Worldand is drawn out for an unusual amount of time.
2The Brachiosaurus
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdomis a dramatic shift in tone from the original movies. While most movies in theJurassic Parkfranchise focus on the human characters trying to escape rampaging dinosaurs,Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdombrings about a terrible ethical dilemma: The human characters must decide whether to save the technically extinct creatures when the island’s volcano begins to erupt. This dilemma results in the most tragic and unforgettable death in the movie, which is not a human character.
Fallen Kingdom Features the Death of the Original Jurassic Park Brachiosaurus
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona confirms the dinosaur seen in the most emotional scene comes from the first movie.
Many ofthe dinosaurs inJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomescapeon the boat, but one of them is left behind, resulting in a heartbreaking scene. As some of the dinosaurs plunge into the sea in a futile attempt to escape the volcano, one is left standing on the jetty, partially hidden by smoke and backlit by the fires. This is a Brachiosaurus, and it has been confirmed thatshe is the same dinosaur that Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) first encountered inJurassic Park.
1Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck)
Though the original movie is still a beloved classic with a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, there are severalmissed opportunities inJurassic Park. One of these is killing the game warden Robert Muldoon before he has the opportunity to show his strength and talents. Muldoon is a knowledgeable hunter, who spends most of the movie telling Hammond that the dinosaurs should be destroyed. Unfortunately, he lacks some information that would have saved his life.
Earlier inJurassic Park, Dr. Grant graphically explains how Velociraptors hunt as a pack, attacking their prey from the side rather than from the front. Muldoon may be an expert hunter, but he does not know this, so when a Velociraptor bursts out of the brush when he is stalking another one, it takes him completely by surprise.Muldoon’s iconic line, “clever girl,” has made his death scene unforgettable, and one of the best inJurassic Park.
Source:Happy Sad Confused podcast
The Jurassic Park franchise is an action-adventure sci-fi series that began with Michael Crichton’s original novel. The series explores the dramatic repercussions of resurrecting dinosaurs through advanced genetic science. Set primarily in a disastrous theme park, Jurassic Park explores the profound ethical dilemmas about tinkering with the DNA of long ago extinct creatures and the manipulation of the natural world through science.
