Ridley Scott Describes ‘Grapes Of Wrath’-Esque Opening To ‘Blade Runner 2’

Next year is going to be a busy one for Ridley Scott, as he sees two of his sci-fi classics — "Alien" and "Blade Runner" — go down the sequel path. Earlier today, 20th Century Fox officially confirmed "Alien: Covenant" with the film ready to roll in front of cameras this winter, with Scott guiding the next chapter of the "Prometheus" saga that will eventually link to "Alien." And next summer, Scott will be producing the Denis Villeneuve directed and Roger Deakins shot "Blade Runner 2," slated to star Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling (the latter has confirmed his casting to Collider). Plot details so far have been kept under lock and key, but as per usual these days, if you just ask Scott, he’ll give you an answer.

Speaking at AFI Film Fest last week (MTime via Slashfilm), the director detailed the opening of "Blade Runner 2," which ditches the neon soaked noir of future Los Angeles, for uh, Wyoming. We’ll let him explain: 

We decided to start the film off with the original starting block of the original film. We always loved the idea of a dystopian universe, and we start off at what I describe as a ‘factory farm’ – what would be a flat land with farming. Wyoming. Flat, not rolling – you can see for 20 miles. No fences, just plowed, dry dirt. Turn around and you see a massive tree, just dead, but the tree is being supported and kept alive by wires that are holding the tree up. It’s a bit like Grapes of Wrath, there’s dust, and the tree is still standing. By that tree is a traditional, Grapes of Wrath-type white cottage with a porch. Behind it at a distance of two miles, in the twilight, is this massive combine harvester that’s fertilizing this ground. You’ve got 16 Klieg lights on the front, and this combine is four times the size of this cottage. And now a spinner [a flying car] comes flying in, creating dust. Of course, traditionally chased by a dog that barks, the doors open, a guy gets out and there you’ve got Rick Deckard. He walks in the cottage, opens the door, sits down, smells stew, sits down and waits for the guy to pull up to the house to arrive. The guy’s seen him, so the guy pulls the combine behind the cottage and it towers three stories above it, and the man climbs down from a ladder – a big man. He steps onto the balcony and he goes to Harrison’s side. The cottage actually [creaks]; this guy’s got to be 350 pounds. I’m not going to say anything else – you’ll have to go see the movie.

So, Rick Deckard has turned to farming? Have to admit, didn’t see that coming… And between this movie and Christopher Nolan‘s "Interstellar," it seems arid farmland is being used as a stand-in for hardship in the future.

READ MORE: What ‘Blade Runner 2’ Can Learn From Successful Sci-Fi Sequels

As Slashfilm notes, a couple of years ago, Scott described a somewhat similar opening scene, where Deckard "kills" a similarly sized man, with the big reveal that it’s actually a replicant. So presumably, this intro leads to that fight.

Thoughts, concerns? Hit up the comments section. Update 10/20: Video of Ridley Scott describe the scene has arrived online — check it out below.