It would seem that lightning has struck twice with news that legendary film-maker Ridley Scott is returning to the world of another of his seminal sci-fi flicks, Blade Runner. While the original film wasn’t a box-office hit when first released, it’s audience has grown over the years and today it’s widely considered to be one of the most influential films of it’s genre. Drawn from the writings of the Philip K. Dick novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’, Ridley Scott created a world that was unlike any other, and combined with Douglas Trumbull‘s amazing visuals, the film depicted a stark, but beautiful vision of the future.
Check out the original trailer here:
When Warner Bros-based financing and production company Alcon Entertainment acquired the rights to the Blade Runner franchise in March, there was concern that any new film would be nothing more than a pale imitation. As it turned out Alcon were keen on Sir Ridley returning, but believed luring the film-maker an impossibility.
While the sci-fi and film community is overjoyed with news of Ridley Scott helming a new flick, there’s also been criticism that any follow-up would retread the same themes, and there’s no compelling script driving the decision to move froward. Nonetheless the prospect of the highly respected film-maker revisiting the world of Blade Runner using today’s digital technology combined with 3D visuals, is an exciting one.
Ridley Scott’s return ensures creative continuity, but the big question is whether Harrison Ford would also be involved. LA Times recently poised this question to Alcon Entertainment producer Andrew Kosgrove:
In no way do I speak for Ridley Scott, but if you’re asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford, the answer is no. This is a total reinvention, and in my mind that means doing everything fresh, including casting.
While Ford seems an important element, it’s worth noting that the film’s somewhat ambiguous ending suggested that his character Deckard might also be a replicant, and in many ways his journey was resolved – however featuring his character 30 years on might also dispel that notion.
A story reboot is unlikely as the acquisition of the rights precluded such, allowing only a prequel or sequels, or a similarly themed story set within the Blade Runner universe. Since the original took place in the not too distant future of 2019 – and flying cars and robots are still sometime off, we can therefore expect a time leap to some similarly compelling dystopia.
It’s intersting to note that when Alcon producers had meetings with Scott, they agreed that any new film should have a fresh story and avoid the restrictions of a sequel/ prequel. Similar to the evolution that became’Prometheus’, the auteur sees more potential in new stories that exists within the same setting.
Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh, I believe he sees an opportunity to create something that’s wholly original from the first ‘Blade Runner.
Scott recently finished editing ‘Prometheus’ and it’s possible that a new Blade Runner could be his next project that goes into development. That said it will take some time to develop a working script and pre-production will be a massive undertaking. Producers hope to start shooting by 2013 with a release of the next installment of Blade Runner sometime in 2014.
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