Beneath the dinosaur action of Jurassic Park is the relationship between paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler. Partnered together on expeditions, they end up traveling on a fateful voyage to Jurassic Park. The two are clearly close companions and demonstrate a degree of sexual tension. Despite this, the movie never stated whether their friendship was more than platonic. This is likely due to the true nature of their bond being given an answer in a deleted scene.

With the deleted scene not making the final cut of Jurassic Park, it consequently led to mixed messages as to whether Alan and Ellie were romantically involved. But while the film never provided an answer, future movies would try to answer the question of how close the two scientists really were.

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A Deleted Scene Clarified Alan Grant & Ellie Sattler's Relationship

Jurassic World Dominion finally had Alan and Ellie as a couple kissing

The ties between Alan and Ellie were more overtly defined in Jurassic Park's early development. There was an axed scene where the two passionately embrace and kiss while working at the Velociraptor dig site. This stands in stark contrast to Michael Crichton's book, where the two were simply friends and Dr. Sattler was engaged to another man. The romantic scene never made it into the final film, which was probably for the best. Since Alan's character arc involved him learning to care for children, cutting this helped to emphasize his aloof nature and personal growth. Portraying him as being in a committed relationship would only serve to make his dislike of kids jarring. That said, not fully clarifying the duo's relationship made other elements in the movie more confusing.

While the removal of the scene would suggest Alan and Ellie were purely friends, they also displayed some light sexual tension in Jurassic Park that suggests it was a late change to the script. Ellie states that she would like to see a child like Alan after he scares a kid at the dig site, but this can also be interpreted as simple teasing. Furthermore, Alan interrupts Dr. Malcolm's question about their relationship with a simple "yes" before Malcolm can finish, leaving it ambiguous whether Malcolm was asking if Alan and Ellie were romantically involved or not. However, Jurassic Park III would later depict Ellie as being married to another man, seemingly putting a close to the question.

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Jurassic World Dominion Finally Saw Alan Grant & Ellie Get Together

Ellie Sattler And Alan Grant In Jurassic World Dominion

Despite seemingly having no romantic relationship, Jurassic World Dominion brought Alan and Ellie back to finally confirm the nature of their relationship. Alan's first visit with Ellie in Dominion has her revealing she's divorced, something Alan seems surprised about. The two wind up journeying together to Biosyn's dinosaur reserve and survive another adventure with dinosaurs. As they leave the reserve, the two share a kiss and head to Washington, D.C. together, finally getting together as a couple. What once was something merely speculated about was given definitive closure.

Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler have had an evolving relationship over the course of the Jurassic Park franchise. They would have begun the series as a couple, but clumsy editing choices by Steven Spielberg simply left their friendship unclear. However, the sparks that were left onscreen clearly left an impact on audiences, prompting Jurassic World Dominion to finally pair them together almost three decades later.