Following on the heels of Prometheus, the non-remake/prequel remake/prequel of Alien, it’s been announced that Sir Ridley Scott will give Blade Runner the same treatment, and will produce and direct. Though the news of another Blade Runner film came back in March, there had yet to be a confirmation that Scott would be on board for the project. Today, it’s been confirmed.
While I am firmly in the “more Blade Runner? Awesome!” camp, there are some lingering questions: first, since he’s presumably giving the whole thing the fancy-schmancy super-expensive 3D treatment, can we really afford to have Blade Runner even more dimly lit than it already is? (This is something I imagine Prometheus will at least partially settle, as Alien wasn’t exactly sun-drenched itself). And second: is Blade Runner really Blade Runner without Deckard, Rachael, Roy Batty, Pris, Edward James Olmos, et al? Remember, a lot of those gorgeous visuals were of those gorgeous actors, and the gravitas was because they (well, most of them) could actually act. Casting will be very important.
But, hey, more Blade Runner! My one humble fan request: since Draco Malfoy got to say “get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape!” in the thunderously awesome Rise of the Planet of the Apes, can we bring back one or more of “He say you blade runner,” “More human than human, that’s our motto,” and/or “Too bad she won’t live. But then again, who does?” Or not. I’ll settle for the set being lit so we can see, personally.
We still don’t know if this is a prequel, a sequel, a reboot, a remake or something else entirely. What do you want to see?
Danny Bowes is a playwright, filmmaker and blogger. He is also a contributor to nytheatre.com and Premiere.com.
