Jurᴀssic Park made a significant change to the villain from the original novel, and it ended up changing the entire series as it continued to be adapted. The original Jurᴀssic Park was released in 1993, launching the beloved franchise that brought dinosaurs back to life with all the mayhem that comes with that.

The movie was based on the novel by Michael Crichton and adheres fairly closely to its structure and overall story. Of course, like most adaptations, there are some major differences between the Jurᴀssic Park movie and the book, including the characterization of the main villain of the original story.

The dangerous dinosaurs of Jurᴀssic Park are certainly the primary threat, but there are also human antagonists. Both the novel and the movie have corporate traitor Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) as a bad guy, but the former has one much more prominent character in a villainous role that fans of the movie alone may be surprised by.

John Hammond Was The Villain In The Original Novel

Hammond Was A Greedy & Careless Character Who Died An Ironic Death

John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) is the man who made Jurᴀssic Park. In both the movie and the novel, Hammond is a wealthy and ambitious businessman who wants to build this stunning park with its scientific breakthroughs. However, the two versions of the story present him in very different lights, as the novel makes him the corporate villain who is present in most Jurᴀssic Park sequels.

In the source material, Hammond is driven mostly by greed and the pursuit of fame, rather than wanting to share this incredible discovery with the world. Hammond in the movie insists the park should be affordable to everyone, which is a sentiment the book version doesn’t share — he sees himself as above all others.

Perhaps the most stark contrast is how the book’s Hammond is so indifferent to those around him. He shares none of the success of the park with others and blames its workers for any issues. When people start dying, he is not remorseful, even when it is his own grandchildren in danger.

This, of course, differs greatly from the kind and charming depiction in the movie, with Richard Attenborough’s performance adding such warmth to the role. Both versions are ignorant of what they have done, but the movie’s iteration eventually realizes his mistake. The book version of Hammond continues dismissing the scientific concerns until he is killed by his own creation.

Making Hammond Sympathetic Changed The Perception Of His “Vision”

Hammond’s Desire To Protect His Creations Made The Dinosaurs More Sympathetic

Attenborough’s kindly take on John Hammond in Jurᴀssic Park is so iconic that it is now hard to picture the character in the way he was written in the original novel. However, along with making Hammond more likable, the change shifted the audience’s perception of what he was trying to do and reframed how the Jurᴀssic Park movies view dinosaurs.

With the various death scenes in the Jurᴀssic Park movies, the dinosaurs are certainly depicted as dangerous. However, had Hammond remained like his book character, these dinosaurs would have seemed like monsters born out of the greedy ambitions of a foolish man who didn’t understand what he was meddling in.

In the movie, once Hammond realizes the mistake he has made, he takes responsibility. He tells Nedry: “I don’t blame people for their mistakes. But I do ask that they pay for them.” Hammond realizes he brought these dinosaurs into the world, and it is his responsibility to ensure they are protected, which is the role he takes up in The Lost World: Jurᴀssic Park.

From there, the Jurᴀssic Park movies have shaped their outlook on these dinosaurs from Hammond’s perspective. It was a mistake to bring them into the present day to coexist alongside humans. However, it is not a mistake that deserves to be wiped out, and they should be able to prosper, even if they sometimes pose a threat.