Once untouchable sci-fi milestones, Ridley Scott has deemed it necessary to keep tinkering with "Alien" and "Blade Runner." We’ve already seen the result of what happened with "Alien" pre-prequel "Prometheus" (which has a sequel brewing), and for a while now, a follow-up to "Blade Runner" has been in the works. It looks like the pieces are falling into place, and with Scott’s "Exodus: Gods And Kings" arriving soon, he’s hitting the press circuit and revealing his future plans for the replicant saga.
Chatting with Variety, Scott said that he won’t direct "Blade Runner 2," but will stay on as a producer, with filming scheduled to get underway next year. There’s no word why he opted out of the director’s chair, but considering his next project is "The Martian" with Matt Damon, he probably just doesn’t have the time anymore. But he’s been deeply involved, working on the script with "Blade Runner" scribe Hampton Fancher, and Scott even spilled a few more details about the rumored and highly expected return of Harrison Ford as Deckard.
“We talked at length about what it could be, and came up with a pretty strong three-act storyline, and it all makes sense in terms of how it relates to the first one,” Scott explained. “Harrison is very much part of this one, but really it’s about finding him; he comes in in the third act.”
We’ll let the fans decipher what that means, but there’s a bigger question looming—who will take the reins? When, Scott left "Alien," it landed in the hands of James Cameron, who made the equally thrilling "Aliens." Which filmmaker has not only the cojones, but the vision to make the next chapter in the "Blade Runner" story? Let us know below.
I can visualize J.J. Abrams
Charles deLauzirika is the obvious choice. He was the restoration producer on Blade Runner back in 07 and he has worked with Ridley Scott since the 90\’s doing all his BTS work and curating his blu-ray releases (as well as those of the late Tony Scott\’s, Michael Bay\’s movies and David Lynch\’s recent Twin Peaks blu ray box set). He is known as the world\’s greatest Blade Runner expert and is an incredible filmmaker in his own right.
Yeah, Im sure ALL of those directors are gonna jump on this… especially The Coens and David Lynch.. and Fincher will do Part 3..
I\’d love to see what Glazer or Gray could do on a film like that, it would probably be could for them to try new things, something more entertaining, something bigger. Fincher would be great too. Alien 3 was one of his best film, and it would be nice to see him do Blade Runner 2 with Jeff Cronenweth who\’s father shot the firts one and worked with Fincher on Alien 3. Nolan and Duncan Jones would also be good at it but maybe it would be best if they chose somoene less expected, who hasn\’t done a lot of blockbusters.
The only contemporary director that has a natural inclination for the visual sophistication and slow burn narrative rhythm of the first picture is Jonathan Glazer. If he did it, one could take the sequel to be a serious attempt to build on the enigmatic qualities of the original. David Fincher would make a solid second choice because he is splendid with filmmaker mimickry and would probably be able to do a good job of both capturing the sensibilities of the first picture and delivering a fresh twist as well as adding some (much needed) marketing heft with his name.
Wild card: I\’d love to think the combination of James Gray and Darius Khondji would work, but Khondji did a really dreadful job of capturing the "Alien" aesthetic in "Resurrection." Slick, yes — but not "Alien"-esque at all. But James Gray + (brilliant cinematographer to be named later) could work.
From the vault: Both Adrian Lyne and Alan Parker (a wildly underrated director) come from the same commercials background and aesthetic perspective as Ridley Scott and could probably be counted on to do something very evocative of the atmoshpere of the first picture. And let\’s be frank: the atmosphere of "Blade Runner" is 90% of the magic.
Duncan Jones indeed.
Nolan.
David Fincher would be perfect.
What matters is that the way is unobstructed for him to direct Prometheus 2!
"…it\’s about finding him." Yep, he\’s a runner. I\’m more excited about The Martian. Tremendous book!
Blade Runner 2 needs a great formalist such as Winding Refn, Wong Kar-wai, Iñárritu, David Michôd, Xavier Dolan, Spike Jonze, Darren Aronofsky, Bennett Miller, J. C. Chandor, Derek Cianfrance and Alfonso Cuarón.
Alex Proyas is a solid director with an eye for future noir that, under Scott\’s guidance, could capture the right atmosphere and do this justice. (Although i still think Blade Runner should be left untouched.)
Blade Runner is a WB\’s production so probably Chris Nolan.
Jodorowsky
Logically, this project needs a post-modernist American director, so some good candidates are:
The Coen bros.
David Lynch
Sam Raimi
Steven Soderbergh
David Fincher
Duncan Jones.