Jurassic Park: What Happened To Nedry's Barbasol Can?

Friday, June 28, 2019

What happened to Dennis Nedry's Barbasol can after his unfortunate encounter with a hungry Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park?

The original Jurassic Park is considered one of the best summer blockbusters of all time, with the film being an almost perfect mix of suspense, action, and great characters. It also introduced the world to the wonders of Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm. The movie was based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, with the story involving a park where cloned dinosaurs run amok when the security defenses break down.

Jurassic Park was an enormous worldwide success and Steven Spielberg would return again for 1997's The Lost World. Spielberg would later admit he lacked passion while working on the sequel, so while it still features great setpieces, it didn't receive the acclaim that greeted the first movie. Joe Johnston came on to direct Jurassic Park 3 in 2001 and while it was another success, it received mixed reviews and is the lowest grossing of the series. The franchise went on extended hiatus until Jurassic World arrived in 2015, which was followed by 2018's Fallen Kingdom.

The new trilogy is set to conclude with Jurassic World 3 in 2021. For fans of the series, there was close to a 15-year wait between the third and fourth entries, with only 2011's Jurassic Park: The Game to bridge the gap. This title was developed by the now-defunct Telltale Games (The Walking Dead) and is a point-and-click adventure that takes place at the same time as the original movie. One of the most enduring mysteries of Jurassic Park is the fate of Dennis Nedry's Barbasol can. Nedry was a computer programmer who accepted a bribe from rival company BioSyn to smuggle dinosaur embryos out of the park. He's given a can of shaving cream with a hidden compartment where he can place the embryos.

Unfortunately for him, he crashes on his way to the dock and is killed by a Dilophosaurus, with the Barbasol can buried in mud. What happened to this can has become a talking point among some viewers, who wonder why it was never a plot point in later sequels. Nevertheless, the original, unused script for Jurassic Park 4 by John Sayles (The Alienist) featured the can as a MacGuffin, and it also plays an important role in Jurassic Park: The Game. The story reveals that when Nedry failed to reach the dock, two BioSyn employees came to find him. They discover his corpse and the can, but when they're attacked by dinosaurs, smuggler Nima is the only survivor.

A mercenary later attempts to steal the can from Nima, but while Jurassic Park: The Game has two endings available, neither one works out well for the can or its contents. In one ending, if Nima is greedy and tries to retrieve the can, she's eaten by the T.rex and the canister is left on Isla Nublar. The other ending has Nima be heroic and save the life of another character, resulting in the can being crushed by the T. rex.

Jurassic Park: The Game was intended to be a canon entry in the franchise, though its current status is unknown following the Jurassic World movies. The game itself has been somewhat forgotten in recent years, but with the island having blown up in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it's explanation for the fate of the Barbasol can is likely the only one fans will get.

Source: https://screenrant.com