British filmmaker Ridley Scott heads back to the realm of science fiction next summer with Prometheus, the ‘prequel’ to his 1979 hit Alien, and now Deadline are reporting that the three-time Academy Award nominated filmmaker will follow this up by returning to another of his former glories, the cult classic Blade Runner.
The original film was based on Philip K. Dick’s short story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and saw Harrison Ford starring as Rick Deckard, a ‘blade runner’ tasked with tracking down four replicants in a dystopian future Los Angeles. Blade Runner was released in 1982 and suffered disappointing box office returns, although it has since went on to earn a reputation as one of the greatest science fiction movies of all-time.
According to Deadline’s report, Scott has signed on to produce and direct the new film, although there’s no word yet as to whether this will take the form of a prequel or a sequel. The news comes just weeks after Harrison Ford spoke about another installment, telling Collider that: “The ambition every time that I’ve been involved in a sequel of a film or a movie that had a number of iterations, I always felt that we were responsible for bringing something new to the characters and to the experience of the audience. If they go into it with the ambition and some very good idea of how to bring something new to it, maybe it’ll be successful.”
With Ridley Scott on board, there must be a good chance that Ford will follow suit. Now, if only they can work Rutger Hauer into it, I’ll be a happy man.
UPDATE – According to producer Andrew Kosove, it’s unlikely that Ford will be back: “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.”
Hmmm…
Originally published August 18, 2011. Updated November 29, 2022.
