The 'Jurassic World' franchise is one that started off with great intentions but then ended up collapsing underneath its feral storyline that wasn't really all about dinosaurs anymore.
'Jurassic World: Dominion' was the final entry in the sequel series, which hit cinemas earlier this year and was a resoundingly underwhelming trip back to the hybrid world where man and dinosaurs can "exist in harmony". However, even more shocking than the convoluted storyline of the third film is the pay gap between the two main cast members Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt.
The joint leads, who play Claire Dearing and Owen Grady, were reported by Variety in 2018 to have received $8 million and $10 million apiece for the sequel film 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom', meaning Howard received $2 million less than her male co-star. However, in a recent interview with Insider, the actor admits that she was paid "so much less" than what was originally reported.
Howard told the publication: "The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less. When I started negotiating for 'Jurassic,' it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set."
Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt starred together in the three sequel films which picked up from the original 'Jurassic Park' trilogy from the '90s and early '00s. The latest film saw Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill reprise their roles and reunite for one final hurrah with the dinos.
While Howard's pay was far from matching her co-stars, she did add that Pratt spearheaded any further negotiations when it came to other opportunities within the franchise which weren't directly related to the films.
For the video games or theme park rides, she said that Pratt did all the work to ensure they both received equal pay: "What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn't been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me: 'You guys don't even have to do anything. I'm gonna do all the negotiating. We're gonna be paid the same, and you don't have to think about this, Bryce.'
"And I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I've been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie."
Howard is well-known for her appearance in the 'Black Mirror' episode 'Nosedive', but she has recently taken to directing and has been a stable feature in Disney+'s two Star Wars series 'The Mandalorian' and 'The Book of Boba Fett'. Next on the agenda for the star is lending her voice to Pixar's next animation 'Elemental'.