The long-awaited (and frequently delayed) sequel to Ridley Scott’s cyberpunk sci-fi classic Blade Runner appears to be moving forward yet again, with the producer making a twofold announcement this week. Not only will original Blade Runner star Harrison Ford be returning for the follow-up to the 1982 film, but Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve is expected to direct the movie.
The announcement was made by Blade Runner rights-holders Alcon in a statement that also indicated the producers expect cameras to begin rolling on the project in summer 2016. The original film told the story of a grizzled police operative (played by Ford) who is tasked with hunting down a group of human-looking android “replicants” hiding in Los Angeles in the year 2019. It was long believed that the original film’s director, Ridley Scott, might return for the sequel.
Little is know about the plot of the sequel, which was penned by the Blade Runner co-writer Hampton Fancher and Green Lantern writer Michael Green, but the film is expected to be set several decades after the 1982 film. The script is reportedly based on a story conceived by Fancher and Scott.
“We are honored that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners,” said Alcon CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove in a press release accompanying the announcement. “Hampton and Michael, with Ridley Scott, have crafted a uniquely potent and faithful sequel to one of the most universally celebrated films of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this amazing, creative team.”
Widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, Blade Runner was inspired by acclaimed author Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
