Dinotopia Reimagined – Our Dreamcast

This is part 3/3 of our “Dinotopia Reimagined” series. Read parts one and two here!

As stated in our previous entries (see above), the only proper way to bring in Dinotopia onscreen in our vision is to set it in the original timeline, following original characters from the books. Now it is time to discuss these characters and look at what actors could fit these roles. Of course the world presents a large cast explore – but for the sake of simplicity let’s focus primarily on our main characters.

Arthur Denison – Ewan McGregor

The main character in this book series, Arthur Denison, an American single father after his wife’s recent passing sought adventure with his son before getting caught up in a storm. This requires an actor who can pass for someone in his 40s as someone very inquisitive and yet has a certain charm or charisma in a way that doesn’t make him boring or having whimsical expressions Like similar characters. He also has to have the acting range of someone who still misses the outside, but finds the mystery of finding out this world keeps drawing him in. Ewan McGregor has that intelligence charm and Charisma to pull this off.

Will Denison – Jaeden Martell

Will is Arthur’s son who appears to be around 15 or 16 at the start of the books – so it is important to find an actor who is at that age or who can pull off the appearance of one. Will, despite struggling with the loss of his mother, finds new purpose with the peaceful ethics of the island and would later become a Skybax Rider by the end of book one. We want to avoid clichés of teenage characters who are wide-eyed and curious without having any charm or relatability. Either do this cliché well or do it differently. Jaeden Martell I believe is very capable of playing usually cliched weak characters and giving new life into them as shown in the horror film It where he plays an autistic kid who stutters, and most recently in Knives Out where plays a young Ben Shapiro. 

Had I wrote this article a few years ago I would’ve considered Tom Holland or Timothée Chalamet. However, seeing as they’re starting to approach 30, it’s safe to say they’ve outgrown their teenage looks by now. Should Jaeden also fall victim to the passage of time, any rising child/teen star with chops should do.

Oriana – Rooney Mara or Naomie Harris

Introduced in the 2^nd book “The World Beneath”, Oriana is a musician who accompanies Arthur and Lee Crabb to the underworld of Dinotopia, which conveniently shares the same name as the book. Her book descriptions show her as someone around her 30’s. Her book illustrations appear to show her as either a redhead or brunette. However I would not be opposed to having Oriana played by a person of color since the island’s inhabitants are descended from people all across the world. What matters is if the actress can convey a strong-willed but kind-hearted woman and not an uninspired bland tag-a-long like Marion in the Hallmark series. Rooney Mara (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US)) and Naomi Harris (Pirates of the Carribean) would fit nicely.

Silvia Romano – Morgan Lily

Sylvia is the first human character the Denisons meet after landing on the island. She is something of a shy girl who eventually befriends develops a romantic relationship with Will Denison. She would half be played by a young actress who looks like someone in her mid teens. Morgan Lily is a relatively new name for the red carpet, and appears to share Jaeden’s gift of a young face, despite carrying a decade of acting experience under her belt. However, given that this is an adaptation I also wouldn’t mind adjusting both Sylvia and Will’s character ages to more closely match that of the actors.

Binx (voice) – Lupita Nyong’o

Humor, wisdom, and eagerness to help others is what best describes this character

Binx is one of the few dinosaurs on the island that can speak human languages fluently. She provides something of a perspective character in the dinosaur world as she lives in a sentient lifestyle similar to humans. This requires a female voice that has a high degree of intelligence and curiosity. I can imagine Binx’s voice sounding something close to Piglet (Winnie the Pooh) if he dropped the stutter. This may require a veteran voice actress rather than just another famous actor in a recording studio – but for the sake of this list I’m gonna go with Lupita Nyong’o. Lupita has shown in both Star Wars (as Maz) and Us, she is capable of doing a variety of voicework that is distinct.

The major obstacle for the effects of people is how to make Binx a convincing character. A Protoceratops is not the typical dinosaur you think of for a traveling companion. It’s difficult to have a dinosaur face like that and convey emotion. The challenge is how to have this CG creation expressive or easy on the eyes. The problem with making CGI animals expressive, even in the book illustrations, is it is hard to make out her face. Instead it’s mostly conveyed through body language. One other possibility is they could make Binx a different dinosaur whose face is easier to work with like a Troodon.

Lee Crabb – Paul Giamatti or Brendon Gleeson

Lee Crabb is something of an antagonist in the book but has relatable motivations in wanting to get off the island. He serves as a contrarian to the largely peaceful people of Dinotopia. Despite most people honoring the island’s pacifist honor code there are other people like Crabb who reject such wholesome notions. Lee, along with other nefarious individuals, believe that peace with dinosaurs is an illusion and that humans have become subservient to them. I want our Lee Crabb to be something of a racist Long John Silver – someone who is prejudiced towards dinosaurs but shares Arthur’s enthusiasm in discovering Dinotopia’s past. The main difference is that he only seeks this knowledge to benefit himself.

This requires a veteran actor who can be villainous, but well-spoken and has the range to be both humorous and sometimes intimidating. Both Gleeson and Giamatti have built their careers by toeing the line between trustworthy father figure/comrade and full on psychopathic megalomania, often as the same character. Perfect.