'Blade Runner': Ridley Scott Directing New Film

Now just eight years from the wrecked, futuristic Los Angeles envisioned in the original, Ridley Scott will be helming a new entry into the iconic "Blade Runner" canon.

Deadline reports that the legendary director is set to revive the classic 1982 film, which starred Harrison Ford as Richard Deckard, who worked to capture humanoid robots before falling in love with one of them.

It's unknown, at this point, whether the film will be a prequel, sequel, reboot or spinoff; Scott is currently finishing "Prometheus," the Damon Lindelof-penned film that is a sort of relative to his classic, "Alien."

Also unclear is whether Ford would return to the franchise; he is still an action star, featuring this summer in the disappointing "Cowboys & Aliens," and recently donned his iconic hat and whip for a new entry in the "Indiana Jones" saga. Another film in that series is expected at some point, as well.

Alcon Entertainment, which runs through Warner Bros., acquired the rights to the film in March, announcing its intention to create new entries, in backward and forward-looking directions, to the original.

For much more, click over to Deadline.

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Comments

[WADRGFY]

04:57 PM on 08/31/2011

Still one of the top five films of all time IMHO.

[MSMSucksCom]

07:01 PM on 08/21/2011

The only problem I see with a prequel or sequel is that there's a huge demographic too young to have seen the original, so I'm not sure if the potential audience is large enough to support either of those films.

A remake might be OK, since that would give exposure to an entire new audience base and also enable producers to see if there's a big enough market for this film, which if there is could support BOTH a prequel and sequel (based on the remake).

[MSMSucksCom]

06:56 PM on 08/21/2011

I bought the 2007 Limited Edition 5 Disc Blade Runner set, complete in a briefcase, model Spinner car, artwork, movie still, etc.

What's great about this set is that it includes Scott's "Final Cut" of the movie, which he says is the movie how HE wanted it to be shown.

It also includes all four versions of the movie, as released by the studio and others.

Most enjoyable is the documentary on how the movie was made, the disc including commentary/interviews by all the stars, the money men, Scott, his two sons and daughter, and the production people.

I recommend getting that set if you are a fan of the film. You can spend hours on the five discs.

Bonus Comment: It's interesting how Scott did not like the movie released in 1982, nor did many of the people involved with it. But having put the money up, the producers and studio had the final say. (E.g., Harrison Ford ha-ted his voice over in the film. He did not want to do it, neither did Scott. But the studio honchos felt that the audience needed Ford's voice over to explain what they perceived a difficult-to-understand film. End result: Ford pinching his nose provided the voice over.)

Also, Rutger Hauer at the time he was dying saying moments will be lost in time "like tears in the rain" was not in the script. It was his ad lib.

[Tulka2]

02:08 PM on 08/21/2011

We saw this movie in its first run.  We saw it in an Iowa movie theater.  The ending confused us.  We thought, "Well....if there's all that beautiful land outside of the city, why don't people go there instead of staying in the horrible cities?!"  All these years later, the synchronicity with real time is painful because, of course, the reason people don't/won't run to empty lands is that international agricultural corporations own all the land outside of cities. 

[WireDolly]

01:53 PM on 08/21/2011

Dear Hollywood:

Please, please, please, enough with the revamps. Consider putting people here back to work again by BUYING NEW SCRIPTS from new writers, not just revamping old successes to milk them for more money. If you want money, create more new hits!

You've no balls left,
WireDolly

[spkninglsh]

01:19 PM on 08/21/2011

So, he's making a replicant?

[minusjason]

11:55 AM on 08/21/2011

The original is one of my favorite movies. I think, at least it's Ridley Scott doing this.

But Philip K. Dick didn't write a sequel or prequel to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, so I'm not sure how this is gonna work. A remake might actually be good, who knows. I just hope he keeps the noir style of the original. It's really one of my top 5 favorite movies.

[Massconfusion]

02:04 PM on 08/21/2011

Agreed! Same here...despite its departure from PKD"s Androids it was pure geinus!

[minusjason]

02:45 PM on 08/22/2011

I actually saw the movie before reading the book. It is quite a departure. To me, each is a beautiful piece of work in its own right.

[paddy523]

11:47 AM on 08/21/2011

WHY??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Joann Olbrich]

11:16 AM on 08/21/2011

Blade Runner is one of my favorite films. A prequel or sequel would be okay but not a remake.

[darlena1977]

10:22 AM on 08/21/2011

Blade Runner came out when I was five years old. This has to be some of the best news I've heard in the almost 30 years. I'm glad the original director is on for the project. This movie was so advanced for it's time and hopefully if it's a remake it will only be better. I wonder who will play Deckard? I think Gerad Butler or Colin Farrell would be perfect for the leading man. I'm excited.

[Atwill]

10:22 AM on 08/21/2011

I love this film. What a great summer ,1982. Blade Runner, An officer and a Gentleman, ET, the Thing, Tron.

[A terrible sadness]

10:03 AM on 08/21/2011

I remember watching Blade Runner in the theater when I was 10. Definitely my favorite film, though I prefer PKD's novel.

My gut reaction to the idea of a remake is that no good can come of it. If they really want to do something with Blade Runner, tell a new story in the same setting, don't just make a crappy, over-CGI'd, 3D mess of a remake.

[Bruce Negron]

09:59 AM on 08/21/2011

Blade Runner is still ahead of its time even with all the CGI crap that has come up...mind you I like the CGI crap but this movie is unmatched even today. I don't think they could possible create anything to follow it, the franchise should be left alone.

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

11:07 AM on 08/21/2011

I agree. The original Blade Runner is in a class by itself. It seems more likely that a followup would tarnish it than augment it.

[dotmafia]

07:08 AM on 08/21/2011

The article is wrong. Blade Runners didn't work to catch "humanoid robots" -- his job was to "retire" them.

[Adam Bush]

08:19 AM on 08/21/2011

But you have to catch them first, so the article isn't really wrong - it's just not accurate.

[minusjason]

11:52 AM on 08/21/2011

The article says "capture," so yeah, it's wrong.

[ceez]

03:41 AM on 08/21/2011

boy has previews changed from a long time ago. those were the longest 3:38 minutes of my life!