The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Jurᴀssic World Rebirth

Jurᴀssic World Rebirth nearly killed off one of its main characters, and it’s such a relief that the movie changed this plan late into production. Following the events of Chris Pratt’s Jurᴀssic World, the new film sets up an exciting new ensemble of characters for this world, including Jonathan Bailey’s Dr. Henry Loomis and Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett.

The stakes are high in the new story, and several notable characters die throughout the Jurᴀssic film. Many of these add tension and stakes to the movie. When LeClerc is killed after saving the heroes from the Quetzalcoatlus, his loss brings genuine sadness. When the villainous Krebs is eaten by the D-Rex, the movie provides some excellent pathos.

Still, not all deaths are created equal, and not every character in the film has to die. As the ending of Rebirth sets up, there is a bright future ahead for humanity, with this new DNA being openly shared with the world. For that ending to resonate, some of these beloved characters must survive.

Kincaid Easily Became One Of The Best Jurᴀssic World Rebirth Characters

His Backstory & Care For His Team Made Him Very Likable

Mahershala Ali’s Duncan Kincaid is one of the best new characters in the latest Jurᴀssic film. An old friend of Zora Bennett, Kincaid enters the film with a charming scheme to double his pay, before revealing himself to be incredibly kind and thoughtful. He looks out for his team, and he carries a tragically sad backstory.

Zora asks Kincaid about his partner, and the story is vague but tragic. It seems that the couple lost their son, and the pain of this drew them apart. This provokes Kincaid in the film to care especially for children and to go out of his way to ensure the safety of the Delgado siblings.

Jurᴀssic World Rebirth’s Original Script Had Duncan Kincaid Get Killed

The Studio Was Surprisingly Right

This care nearly gets Kincaid killed in the film’s final scenes. On the boat, with the D-Rex hanging over them, Kincaid lights a flare to lure away the monstrous, mutated dinosaur. He is chased into the forest, and the scene plays out with what appears to be Kincaid about to be eaten before cutting away.

Director Gareth Evans explained this plan for Jurᴀssic World while speaking with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley. Kincaid was originally supposed to die in this scene, but the studio thought this might not be the best option. They requested that he shoot an ending where Kincaid lives, and this was done but was not intended to be used in the final cut.

This was a little thing that tapped me on the shoulder as we were making the movie. And it’s like, ‘Okay, alright, so we can’t half a– this because if it plays out that he lives, I’m going to be living with that for the rest of my life… I really want it to be a really good version of that and feel classy and everything. And so I started trying to imagine, ‘Okay, how would that work? How would we play that story out?’ And you start to picture it, and then I started to think, ‘I kind of like that.’

It’s A Relief That Kincaid Survived In Jurᴀssic World Rebirth

He Deserves To Come Back For A Possible Sequel

Fortunately, the end of the film was changed for the better. Kincaid is seen lighting flares along the coast, and the ensemble turns around to rescue him. They escape together into the distance, and Kincaid survives to live another day. This was the right choice for the film, as explained further by Evans:

It’s a little bit magical. I think because we thought he was going to die, and we wrote it that way and did it that way and sH๏τ it that way, I think the audience thinks he’s going to die… Because we did the little tropes. The final little thing you say to your best friend before you leave, it just tells the audience he’s not coming back. We kept all those in even though we knew he was coming back, and I felt like it might feel like a sellout.

Mahershala Ali is a huge star, and his character could be a major part of the Jurᴀssic series going forward. If the box office for Rebirth is strong, it is almost certain that the studio will make another film in the series. Kincaid could remain an integral part of the extended cast in a number of sequels.

Kincaid didn’t deserve to die, and it’s for the better that he survived the events of the film. Ali is among the best performers of his generation, and he makes a great contribution to the cast of Jurᴀssic World Rebirth. If another sequel comes along, it is now likely that he will be a part of it.