'Jurassic World 2' release date, casting news: Jeff Goldblum reprises his iconic role in upcoming sequel

Actor Jeff Goldblum has been confirmed to be included in the cast of "Jurassic World 2."Reuters/Thomas Peter

Jeff Goldblum will reprise his iconic role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in "Jurassic World 2."

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that one of the co-stars of the original "Jurassic Park" film that first came out in 1993, as well as its sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" released in 1997, will also join the cast of the franchise's next installment.

However, Universal Pictures has yet to reveal how the returning character will fit into the story of "Jurassic World 2."

Goldblum's role in the sci-fi movie franchise as the mathematician who focuses on chaos theory earned him a Best Supporting Actor Award nomination from the Saturn Awards after the film's release.

Aside from Goldblum, B.D. Wong will also return to the franchise to reprise his role as the park's chief geneticist Dr. Henry Wu in the upcoming sequel. Dr. Wu also led the team that created dinosaurs in the franchise.

"Jurassic World 2" will also star Chris Pratt as dinosaur trainer Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard as theme park operations manager Claire Dearing, who will both return to the sequel from the hit 2015 film "Jurassic World." Other cast members include Justice Smith as a young scientist, as well as Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Ted Levine, and Daniella Pineda in still unclassified roles. 

The details about the plot of the upcoming film remain under wraps at the moment.

The upcoming sequel will be directed by "A Monster Calls" filmmaker J.A. Bayona, while "Jurassic World" helmer Colin Trevorrow returned to the film to write the script together with Derek Connolly.

Steven Spielberg, the original director of "Jurassic Park," will also return as one of the executive producers of the upcoming sequel, together with his co-executive producers Pat Crowley and Frank Marshall.

The production of "Jurassic World 2" is currently under way, and the film is slated for release in theaters worldwide on June 22, 2018.