Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, and the thought of a sequel after so long would normally fill me with dread. The operative word there being “normally”, as Scott and co went and tapped the masterful Denis Villenueve (Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival) to direct this sequel. And they’ve brought back original star Harrison Ford and picked Ryan Gosling to co-star, with a support cast that includes Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Dave Bautista, Barkhad Abdi and more.
That all sounds incredible… but that’s all we’ve actually known about this movie. Well, until now, as it’s been revealed that the film’s full title will now officially be Blade Runner 2049! Yes, that still doesn’t exactly tell us much about the story, other than this movie will more than likely take place 30 years after the events of the first in which Ford’s “blade runner” Rick Deckard is tasked with tracking down four replicants – incredibly convincing bio engineered androids – who have come to Earth illegally.
For years after the film, there was a rabid back and forth argument about whether or not Deckard himself was a replicant, with even Scott and Ford disagreeing on the matter. Replicants are supposed to have a built-in four year lifespan safety mechanism, so seeing as Ford’s Deckard is still around three decades later would seemingly settle that debate, but with a movie known to not always do the expected, there may be some other surprises in store.
One cool surprise that will be in store for fans is that production studio Alcon Entertainment is teaming up with virtual reality company Occulus to form a new offshoot called Alcon Interactive, whose job it will be to develop and distribute content based around Blade Runner 2049. This VR content will be exclusive to Occulus’s Rift VR gear. There’s no word yet on what type of content this will be, but I would be willing to pay top dollar to virtually go buy some noodles in a neon-lit future Los Angeles cityscape.
Blade Runner 2049 is scheduled for release on October 6, 2017.
Last Updated: October 7, 2016
