WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Proceed at your own risk.
Dr. Henry Wu is becoming one of the most vital characters in the Jurassic franchise. He was first introduced in Jurassic Park as the chief geneticist for the company InGen, but his role became much more integral when he returned in Jurassic World. Now, he’s back again in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
So, what’s up with this crazy dino doctor?
Background
Wu was a part of the dinosaur cloning project from day one. His method of replacing the missing DNA code of the dinosaurs with that of amphibian DNA was praised by the board of investors for expediting the project. After the events of Jurassic Park, Wu returned to the island of Isla Nublar to catalog the remaining specimens and determine exactly what happened with the dinosaurs and their ability to reproduce.
Years later, Wu would use this information to begin researching and experimenting with the idea of hybrid DNA. He successfully created a plant — dubbed the Wu Flower — that combined the DNA of a number of wildly different plant species. After this gained him worldwide acclaim, InGen was purchased by the Masrani Global Corporation and Wu was promoted to a position that would involve monitoring the building of a new park.
The Hybrids
As Jurassic World became a huge success, the visitors began to become bored with the same old dinosaurs. Wu was tasked with creating a new dinosaur that would be more ferocious than any of the natural species. This led to the birth of the Indominus rex, a new carnivore that combined the DNA of Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Carnotaurus, Giganotosaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops, and Therizinosaurus. It also included modern animals like cuttlefish, tree frogs, and a pit viper snake.
Wu also continued to experiment with other forms of hybridization between other animals. However, when Jurassic World suffered the same dinosaur disaster as Jurassic Park, Wu escaped the island with some of the hybrid dinosaur embryos intact. However, he wasn’t able to retrieve any DNA from the Indominus rex.
That would have to come later.
The Kingdom Has Fallen
Which leads us to the events in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Wu is now working under the auspices of the Lockwood estate. This is headed by Benjamin Lockwood, a former friend and partner of John Hammond. Wu is asked to create another new hybrid dinosaur that uses DNA from the now recovered bones of the Indominus rex. This new creature is called the Indoraptor and it’s made to be a trainable killer for whoever owns it.
Naturally, this doesn’t go well. As the dinosaurs run amok, Dr. Wu escapes with those precious DNA samples. Looks like he’ll be getting up to even more crazy DNA experiments. But, what about all those other hybrid embryos? And has his research begun splicing together dinosaur DNA with humans? There is a big, BIG element in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom that involves human cloning. No way the doctor isn’t getting involved with that.
It looks like Dr. Wu will continue to be a crucial part of the Jurassic franchise. And his hybrid experiments are only going to get wackier. We’re certainly here for it. It’s not like the idea of human/dino hybrids hasn’t been floated in the past. If we could see such a nutty idea on the big screen, we’d tip our hat to the mad doctor.
