With Sicario less than a week away from hitting theaters before stopping by Toronto International Film Festival, it means director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins are not only discussing their entertaining current project, but their follow-up as well. Met with as much skepticism as intrigue, Blade Runner 2 will begin production next year for a likely 2017 release and now the duo have spilled a few more details about coming aboard.
Saying that the screenplay was “very powerful,” Villeneuve goes on to tell Collider, “It’s a huge challenge, because you don’t want to cut and paste, otherwise why [do it]? And at the same time you have to respect what was done, so you have to find the right equilibrium between being faithful to the first one and bringing something new at the same time that will make sense to the Blade Runner universe.”
The director adds, “The movie will be autonomous and at the same time there will be some link, but I cannot talk too much about it. The only thing I can say is I was raised with the original cut, the original version that Ridley doesn’t like. That’s the Blade Runner that I was introduced to at the beginning and that I loved for years, and then I must say that I’m someone that appreciated the very last cut, the [Final Cut] version. So between all the different cuts, for me it’s the first and the very last that I’m more inspired by.”
As for Deakins — who took “2.5 seconds” of convincing to come aboard — he tells Screen Crush, “Obviously, it has elements that connect it to the original, but it’s going to stand alone by itself as a movie […] This script is not the old script. It’s not a remake. It’s another take on the story. It’s a progression.” He concludes, “there’s so few good science fiction films out there, that it deserves another. They made about 20 Planet of the Apes and they still haven’t made one as good as the original. They only ever made one Blade Runner, so I think we can do another one.”
So, while they gave no substantial details, it is nice to hear their approach for the film, which will bring back Harrison Ford and feature Ryan Gosling. Fans of the original should also appreciate this convention reel from 1982, which features interviews with Ridley Scott, Syd Mead and Douglas Trumbull. Said to be “specifically designed to circulate through the country’s various horror, fantasy and science fiction conventions,” check it out below thanks to Open Culture.
What do you think of their comments? What about the convention reel?