Ridley Scott has signed on to produce and direct a new Blade Runner film.
There aren’t many sci-fi films more iconic or influential than Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece starring Harrison Ford as a man hunting down renegade “replicants” amidst the clogged industrial glow of Los Angeles in 2019. It’s about as close to perfect as a film can get, which might leave you wondering where exactly the need to remake it comes from. And in fact a remake may not be in the works at all, but what is in the works is Scott’s participation in some sort of new Blade Runner project.
The director is currently committed to the Prometheus project but once that’s done, he’s signed up for a new Blade Runner film in partnership with Alcon Entertainment, which picked up the rights to the film earlier this year. It’s unclear whether the new flick will be a prequel or a sequel, but according to Starburst Magazine, Alcon’s deal for the rights to the Blade Runner franchise specifically excludes a straight-up remake of the original.
Scott’s participation will likely be seen as important to the success of a new Blade Runner film, particularly since it may encourage the return of Ford as Rick Deckard, but that leads to the obvious and very divisive question of whether onr not we want another Blade Runner film in the first place. The world in which the film is set has limitless story potential, but is merely taking advantage of that setting enough to make it a “real” Blade Runner film? And if it does turn out to be a do-over of some sort, what are the odds that it will live up to the original – and why mess with perfection in the first place?
Source: Deadline
Published: Aug 18, 2011 06:05 pm