'Jurassic World 2' Cut A Scene Revealing This Actor’s Character Was Gay

According to actor Daniela Pineda, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was supposed to include a queer character when it hits theaters on Friday, June 22. So, what happened, then? Per some recent comments from Pineda, who stars in the film, a scene revealing Jurassic World's LGBTQA+ character was deleted from the movie's final cut.

(Bustle reached out to Universal Pictures, as well as Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, and Legendary Pictures for comment on the deleted scene, but didn't receive an immediate response.)

The character, as it turns out, was actually Pineda's Dr. Zia Rodriguez, the exceedingly sharp paleo-veterinarian who joins Jurassic World veterans Owen and Claire (played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, respectively) in their attempt to clean up the truly enormous mess that transpired during the franchise's first installation back in 2015. According to Pineda, Rodriguez's character was originally drawn as a queer woman, a detail she was meant to reveal during the now-deleted scene.

Of course, just because that particular tidbit won't actually play out on the big screen doesn't mean Pineda has to keep quiet about it. And, if her chat with Yahoo Entertainment earlier this week is any indication, it seems pretty safe to say she's not going to. Pineda sat down with the news outlet Tuesday, June 18, to talk about her role in the upcoming Jurassic World sequel. Which, according to the actor herself, was initially supposed to give viewers a little bit more information about who her character is — beyond just professional merits — than it actually ends up doing in the film.

During her conversation with Yahoo, Pineda remembered filming one scene in particular that she "really, really loved," which Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom audiences unfortunately won't get to see. Luckily, Pineda worked her acting muscles like a pro (makes sense, since she's literally a pro) during the sit-down, so, in lieu of watching the actual deleted content, fans can at least watch Pineda's reenactment of it. Setting the scene, she begins. "It's me and Chris Pratt, and we're in, like, a military vehicle with all these mercenaries," Pineda tells the moderator. "And it's kind of quiet. And everyone else is just kind of waiting."

The actor pauses for a moment, then winds up for the kicker. "And I look at Chris and I'm like, 'Yeah, square jaw, good bone structure, tall, muscles. I don't date men, but if I did, it would be you. It would gross me out, but I'd do it.'" Pineda delivers the line completely straight-faced and with all the spunky gusto of her Fallen Kingdom character, despite the fact that — and it seems Pineda was duly aware of this — her comment marks the first time the world has heard anything at all about Dr. Rodriguez's sexuality. Moving right along, the actor elaborated on why that particular scene has stayed with her after all this time. "It was cool because it was a little insight into my character," she explained. "But they cut it."

As tends to be the case when it comes to sci-fi blockbusters, it doesn't sound like Pineda's Jurassic World character will see too much of a backstory during Fallen Kingdom. (On screen, at least. As Pineda explained to Yahoo, Rodriguez's queerness "was always the assumption" among the film's cast and crew.) In some ways, that makes sense, since Dr. Rodriguez probably spends most of her screen time scrambling to save the remaining dinosaurs native to Jurassic Park.

Pineda told Yahoo that the creative team's eventual decision to cut her character's sexuality reveal ultimately came down to a timing issue. "I mean, it's not relevant to the story," Pineda said of Dr. Rodriguez's queerness. "But it was a little glimmer into, you know, who she is."

Asked whether she'd like to see a more developed exploration of her character's sexuality come to fruition onscreen when Jurassic World's third installation hits theaters in 2021 (if Dr. Rodriguez ends up returning, that is), Pineda responded in perhaps the most perfect way. "I do," she said, before adding, "'Cause I'd like to see more of that. Especially in big-*ss movies."

And that seems to sum up why the cut is still a little disappointing. Because, even if there was only one scene to begin with, it definitely would've been a win for representation and the real-life queer community its meant to speak for. Queer representation in Hollywood movies isn't great right now, pretty much across the board. And, in major sci-fi blockbusters like Jurassic World, it's even harder to come by. Hopefully, the Jurassic franchise's contribution to that trend stops here.