Whether or not Deckard is a replicant lies at the heart of “Blade Runner” and its evolving themes of artificial intelligence and free will. However, it’s also been one of the most debated elements around the original film for decades. “Blade Runner 2049” doesn’t quite come out and answer the question, but according to Ridley Scott, the entire story doesn’t work if Deckard is human.
On the Empire podcast, the director of the original and executive producer of the sequel explains how before shooting on ‘2049,’ he met with Harrison Ford to clear one thing up. “[I said] dude, if you weren’t a replicant, the film you’re about to do wouldn’t exist. So when [audiences] see the film, it’s essential [to know] that in the present film, he’s a replicant,” Scott explained.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker is keeping hope alive to return to the “Alien” franchise and make a followup to “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” claiming that the series not only remains creatively viable, but commercially viable too.
“We did ‘Prometheus’ for a pretty good price…and we made $450 [million worldwide]. So you go, ‘Wow, there’s life in the dog.’ So now we go again on ‘Covenant,’ which is again roughly the same price four years later. So it’s very frugal, but a very ambitious film, and we did well again. It’s really about business, but it’s commerce [versus] art. Filmmaking will be that and should be that, unless you’re making films for $100,000. If you’re making films for $1,000,000 that’s a lot of money to lose. If you’re making films for $260 million you should be shot,” he said.
Essentially, Scott believes his films are cost-effective for the studio, but he’s mistaken about the performance of ‘Covenant.’ The picture earned significantly less than “Prometheus,” tallying only $240 million worldwide. At any rate, the director says he’s making another movie first, before there’s any possibility of returning for another “Alien,” so it still could be quite a while off.
“Blade Runner 2049” is now showing. Listen to the full talk below.
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I wish he’d shut up about this. It’s supposed to be a mystery. That’s one of the great things about the original film, and I was so relieved that they didn’t reveal it in the sequel.
Agreed. The ambiguity between Deckard’s true identity is one of the most fascinating elements of the original film and I absolutely loved that Villeneuve didn’t spoil it for the remarkable sequel he filmed.
The possibility wasn’t even hinted at in the 1982 original. It wasn’t until years later that Scott decided it’d be cool to raise the question that maybe Deckard is a replicant, so he went and inserted a few “hints” into the director’s cut.
My opinion: If the original text doesn’t support the idea — that is, if it was basically just an ex post facto whim on the part of the director — than it’s not worth taking seriously.
the original is a better story if he’s a human being. and nothing in the sequel requires him to be a replicant. and anyway a definitive answer in the movie would only hurt the mystique of the thing. I don’t know what his obsession with this is and why he keeps harping on this lol. just shut up and quit trying to ruin your movie
not buying it anymore, aliens been sold out to SJWs. ruined it…….. sad