‘Jurassic Park’ Fans Set to Comb Through 1993 Film for Newly Added Character

“Jurassic Park: Survival”, the upcoming first-person action-adventure game from Universal and Saber Interactive, is set to reimagine Isla Nublar through the perspective of a new character, Dr. Maya Joshi.

Further revealed in a new behind-the-scenes featurette, Joshi—portrayed by British actor Payal Mistry—has already sparked discussion among fans eager to see how she fits into the original 1993 film from director Steven Spielberg. Watch the new video below:

The game takes place one day after the first film, with Joshi stranded on the island following the park’s collapse and dinosaur outbreak. The new BTS video highlights both her role in the story and the way players will explore Isla Nublar, encountering familiar landmarks and long-promised but unseen areas, including incomplete attractions and a half-built hotel.

As Executive Producer at Universal Products & Experiences John Melchior notes, these are details only hinted at in the original film, now fully realized for the first time. “There’s lots of facilities, there’s lots of buildings, there’s lots of attractions that are under construction, there’s a hotel under construction,” he says in the video.

“So fans are going to see things and landmarks that they only wish they saw; some elements from the film that were talked about but were never actually conceived in the film.”

Visually, Joshi has also been crafted to feel authentic to the original movie’s setting. Whether intentional or not, her yellow shirt recalls Dennis Nedry’s rain coat, a small but meaningful design choice that ties her presence back to the 1993 aesthetic.

Head of Narrative at Saber Interactive Craig Sherman stresses that the characters of Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm set the standard, and Joshi is intended to meet that same level of specificity and individuality. “So every one of the characters in that film is indelible and this is the bar that we’re shooting for,” he says. “These characters need to be as specific, distinct, colorful as the characters in the film. And Maya is the biggest example of this.”

Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Simulator Experience Arriving This Year • Disney Tips

But perhaps the most amusing development is the inevitable fan response. Once the game releases, viewers will almost certainly revisit Spielberg’s film and comb through the background, hoping to “spot” Joshi somewhere on Isla Nublar. Some are already doing it.

It’s an impossible task, of course—she didn’t exist when the movie was made—but it speaks to how effectively she has been positioned as part of the established world. It’s similar to how the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars added Ahsoka Tano to the prequel era, retroactively deepening the lore of those films.

The initial trailer for “Jurassic Park: Survival”, which premiered at The Game Awards in December 2023, already confirmed this approach, revealing a character we’d never seen before. But the new footage underscores it further.

Joshi isn’t a generic InGen scientist inserted for convenience; she feels like a character who has been there all along, even if she wasn’t visible on screen in 1993.

There’s no release date yet, but for fans of the original film, “Jurassic Park: Survival” could offer the most convincing expansion of Isla Nublar since the franchise began.

Are you excited about the new game? Do you think you’ve already spotted Maya Joshi somewhere in the background in the original 1993 film? Let us know if you have!