Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom cut scene revealing key gay character

'It was also cool, because it was a little insight into my character. But they cut it'

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star Daniella Pineda has said that a brief scene introducing her character as gay was cut from the film.

Pineda, who plays paleo-veterinarian Dr. Zia Rodriguez, told Yahoo that a line of dialogue that identified her character as a lesbian was dropped from the final version, supposedly when cutting down the film's runtime.

The scene in question would have occurred early on when Zia and Owen (Chris Pratt) are riding together in a military vehicle, alongside the group of mercenaries sent to evacuate as many dinosaurs as possible from Isla Nublar before it's engulfed by a volcanic eruption.

“I look at Chris and I’m like: ‘Yeah, square jaw, good bone structure, tall, muscles,’” Pineda said, describing the cut moment. “‘I don’t date men, but if I did, it would be you. It would gross me out, but I’d do it.’ I love that I’m looking at Chris Pratt, the hottest guy in the world, and I’m like, ‘It would gross me out, but I guess I would do it!’ It was also cool, because it was a little insight into my character. But they cut it.”

Pineda credits the film's director J.A. Bayona and co-writer/producer Colin Trevorrow for the initial choice behind Zia's sexual orientation, but explained they also made the decision to cut the moment; the film was two hours and 40 minutes in length at first and the scene ultimately wasn't “relevant to the story, but it was a little glimmer into who she is.”

However, what may be frustrating for many fans is how little of a priority LGBTQ representation currently is for Hollywood: Zia's identity may have been sidelined, but the film still dedicates a significant portion of its time following a romantic subplot between Owen and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard).

Indeed, there's a specific trend of creators diminishing or excluding a character's sexuality within the film itself, only to attach greater significance offscreen. A shot of a woman walking out of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)'s bedroom was cut from last year's Thor: Ragnarok, while Star Trek Beyond cut a kiss between Sulu (John Cho) and his husband.

In Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, director Bill Condon stated that LeFou (Josh Gad) was gay, though the film barely shows evidence of this fact.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is out in UK cinemas now.

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