Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Blade Runner 2: Sequel to classic sci-fi gets foreboding new title

The film sees Harrison Ford's return to his iconic role as Rick Deckard, alongside Ryan Gosling, Dave Bautista, and Robin Wright

Clarisse Loughrey
Friday 07 October 2016 10:50 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The highly-anticipated Blade Runner sequel has finally received its foreboding title, Blade Runner 2049.

Warner Bros.' confidence in the project seems to be constantly on the rise, perhaps partially thanks to the success of director Denis Villeneuve's recent festival hype with Arrival.

The film previously had been slated for a January 2018 release; a sort of cinematic tundra in the cinematic calendar, settled after the hysteria over Christmas blockbusters and Oscar contenders has died down.

But now, the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic 1982 sci-fi has been bumped up to a far more prime 6 October 2017 release; a far sweeter spot for Harrison Ford's return to his iconic role as Rick Deckard, alongside Ryan Gosling, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto, and Robin Wright.

The film's storyline, penned by original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher and Dave Green (also co-writer on the upcoming Alien: Covenant), is tightly under wraps; though the title reveals the film's timeline has naturally progressed, with the original set 30 years earlier in 2019.

The title announcement also accompanied a newly released behind the scenes shot; featuring Scott, Villeneuve, Gosling, and Ford all together, which is a pretty formidable team if you think about it. Though Villeneuve is confident about the project, he's admitted it's, "not possible to live up to the original. It's Ridley Scott. It's one of the best sci-fi films, one of the best films in the past 50 years."


Blade Runner 2049 hits UK cinemas 6 October, 2017.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in