Imagine being given the task of directing the sequel to a 30 year old classic? That’s a tall order. The film has to be good, but not a retread. It also can’t be too different, or it risks alienating the original fanbase. However, it also needs to be accessible to a modern audience, and every development with the project will likely be met with skepticism by many.
Director Denis Villeneuve doesn’t have to imagine this scenario. Blade Runner 2049 is hitting theaters this weekend, and critics are already saying that Blade Runner 2049 rivals — if not surpasses — the original film, with our own review stating that the film “needs to be seen to be believed”. That sentiment is not far removed from most reviews; many are calling the film a “perfect” sequel. So how did Villeneuve handle the stress of such a project? Well, according to the director, the task started out as downright frightening. Speaking to Den of Geek, the director detailed his fear over the prospect of making a sequel to Blade Runner:
“At the beginning, I was frightened to the core. Before I read the screenplay, my first reaction was I thought this was very exciting that Ridley Scott wanted to do it, but at the same time, I was thinking, ‘Is it the most fantastic bad idea of all time?’ There’s a trend to revisit all those classics. I wasn’t sure until I read the screenplay. When I read the screenplay I understood what the idea was behind it and saw the potential to make a great movie.”
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Blade Runner 2049 here
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Blade Runner 2049 is set for release on October 6th and sees Harrison Ford reprising the role of Rick Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto and Edward James Olmos.
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Originally published October 5, 2017. Updated December 18, 2019.
