Despite its popularity with critics, Blade Runner 2049 failed to impress audiences or studio executives. Many have speculated that the franchise’s long-awaited sequel would be the last, but director Ridley Scott isn’t giving up just yet. In an interview with Digital Spy, he said that he has plans for another Blade Runner movie.
“I hope so,” he said in the interview. “I think there is another story. I’ve got another one ready to evolve and be developed, so there is certainly one to be done for sure.”
Scott sounds pretty optimistic about the future of the Blade Runner franchise, but its future is far from a sure thing. After all, Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to a movie that was released in 1982. While the film did build a cult following as one of the greatest science fiction works of all time, it was far from the commercial success of something like Star Wars or even E.T.
It appears that 2049 might suffer the same fate as its predecessor. While both the audience and critical reviews were positive, box office returns were not very strong, and that is one of the surest determining factors in determining whether or not a film will get a sequel. Granted, if they are trying to build a new franchise, studios might take a chance on a sequel to an unpopular film, but Blade Runner is hardly a new franchise.
If there is a sequel, we can hope that it is a bit shorter than the last entry in the series, as even Scott felt it dragged on for too long in some places.
“It was f***ing way too long. F*** me! And most of that script’s mine,” Scott said in response to a question regarding the film’s runtime.
Despite the poor box office returns, the latest in the Blade Runner series is well-worth a watch for sci-fi fans. It features some truly impressive visuals, stellar acting, and an interesting story. Just bear in mind that it, like Scott said, a bit too long-winded in some places.
As for the future of the franchise, that remains to be seen though there was some hope that a strong success in China might make up for its poor domestic showing.
