'Jurassic World 2' spoilers, plot update: Claire Dearing to be main protagonist? Sequel takes things to 'the next level'

Confirmed details about the upcoming "Jurassic World" sequel are still scarce, but according to the internet rumor mill, the second "Jurassic World" film could shift the spotlight from lead actor Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) to Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing) as the sequel's new main protagonist.

The as-yet-untitled "Jurassic World" sequel is the follow-up to the critically and commercially successful "Jurassic World," which held the record for the highest-grossing film of 2015 until it was dethroned by "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in December. The film, which starred Pratt and Howard as a mismatched couple navigating their way through a luxury dinosaur resort overrun by dinos on the loose, is the highest-grossing of all "Jurassic Park" installments.

Now, rumors have it that Howard, who played the sophisticated Jurassic World operations manager Claire Dearing, could be taking over the lead from Pratt, who played the no-nonsense Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady. During a Jurassic Cast Podcast in September 2015, director Colin Trevorrow mentioned that Claire was the character who evolved the most in "Jurassic World"  and that it was her story that reflected what was happening in the world shared by humans and dinosaurs.

Fans have since taken this statement to mean that Claire will be the main act in the "Jurassic World" sequel.

Earlier this year, Howard admitted that she knows "some stuff" about the upcoming film because she has been hounding Trevorrow and "Jurassic World" writer Derek Connolly about it.

"They've told me some stuff and I'm so excited," the actress told E! News.

While she couldn't reveal much of what she knew about the sequel, Howard did hint at what fans can expect from Claire in the new installment.

"Claire is a different person now," she said. "The person she is at the end of the movie is not the person she was in the beginning. Her armor of sorts was that white, pristine outfit with heels in a very corporate environment. The chick at the end is totally different."

"So, there better not be heels!" she added.

Meanwhile, Trevorrow also dropped some clues about the "Jurassic World" sequel, telling Entertainment Weekly that it will be a "different" kind of film.

"I feel like the audience has given us permission, to a certain extent, to take this to the next level," he said.

The sequel to "Jurassic World," which Trevorrow has said won't be called "Jurassic World 2," hits theaters June 22, 2018.