Reprising lead roles from 80s sci-fi films seems to be the fad in Hollywood these days. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher took the first plunge in the upcoming 7th Star Wars movie titled “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Then comes Sigourney Weaver who is reportedly reprising her Ellen Ripley character in the “Alien” movie franchise for an upcoming fifth movie.
Harrison Ford will be taking a second shot in 80s role-reprising as he has been confirmed for the lead role of the sequel to the sci-fi film “Blade Runner.”
Shown in 1982, “Blade Runner” was the movie that propelled Harrison Ford’s career to superstardom. Now, 33 years later, and already 72 years old, the actor will be reprising his character Rick Deckard for the long-overdue film sequel, reports UPI.
The movie also helped established the credibility and reputation of Ridley Scott as the master in directing sci-fi films. Ridley Scott will also be part of the “Blade Runner” sequel but no longer as a director but a producer.
The sequel is to be helmed by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, who also directed the 2013 film “Prisoners” starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Futuristic setting
When it was shown in 1982, “Blade Runner” was set in a rather dark Los Angeles setting in 2019. The sequel will reportedly be set several decades later. Other than the futuristic setting, no detail of the movie’s plot has been released.
In addition to Ridley Scott, also co-producing the film will be Alcon Entertainment’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.
The “Blade Runner” sequel is set for a 2017 release and it might start going into pre-production in summer of this year.
As early as December last year, Harrison Ford has been made privy to the script and he was quoted in an interview then as saying that the sequel’s script is the best thing that he has ever read.
Greatest sci-fi film of all time
While “Blade Runner” did not do so well on the box office, it has, over time, gained tremendous following after it was shown on theaters.
Many movie critics back in the 80s until the 90s have retroactively praised the film, which is now regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time.
Warner Brothers actually released five different versions of the films from 1982 to 2007, which were all widely received by audiences and fans.
The movie also had a superb impact on some of sci-fi films that followed in terms of style and substance. One example is Batman. Christopher Nolan, the director of the Batman reboot franchise said the he wants the Batman movie to be made like the “Blade Runner” was.
A sequel to “Blade Runner” has long been planned in the 80s but it was hampered by so-called rights issue. There have been other plans to make the sequel thereafter but none have materialized. Ridley Scott was planning to direct the sequel as of November last year but decided later on take a producing role instead.