Late this summer the bombshell was dropped that Ridley Scott would be returning to the universe of his sci-fi classic Blade Runner. He was set to helm the next iteration and it was unknown whether it would be a a prequel/sequel/update/reboot/something else entirely. We came up with the many possibilities it could go, but now we have the very first word from Scott himself, thanks to the Wall Street Journal (via Bad Ass Digest).
Scott has confirmed he will direct the film and it is “liable to be a sequel.” But it will not be continuing the exact story, as he reiterates the original cast will not be a part, including Harrison Ford. As for the next steps, last August Alcon Entertainment producers said they could see a writer being hired in “in a matter of months if not weeks.” It looks like the weren’t kidding, as Scott said he is “close to finding a writer that might be able to help me deliver.”
There were rumors of Scott Z. Burns boarding as writer, but that turned out to be completely false. If Scott’s Alien-inspired sci-fi film Prometheus turns out to be a success, I wouldn’t be surprised to see its writer Damon Lindelof come aboard. Even though they are eying an early 2013 production start, the director said the team is a “quite a long way in, actually.” So, I’d expect this writer announcement to occur quite soon. With Scott busy on post-production for Prometheus, one would imagine he’d have a writer working concurrently, so he can jump on after that film hits theaters.
20th Century Fox’s big summer blockbuster hits on June 8th, 2012 with a cast including Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Patrick Wilson, Idris Elba and Guy Pearce.
What do you think about Blade Runner possibly being a sequel? What writer would you want to see come aboard?