EconoTimes
‘Blade Runner 2’ recently released new concept art featuring the dark dystopian future of Los Angeles. Director Denis Villeneuve admitted that he is staying true to Ridley Scott’s vision of the original film.
Images posted on Maxim showed a desolate cityscape reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s original 1982 science-fiction cult favorite. A couple of new concept art has recently been released, which featured the dark and gloomy city of Los Angeles in 2019. The sequel is set a few decades after the events of the first film.
Villeneuve revealed during an interview with BBC that he will honor Scott’s vision. He said, “I’ve always been attracted to science-fiction films with strong visual signatures that lead us into unique parallel worlds and the original Blade Runner is by far the best of all time… Ridley Scott had the genius to blend science-fiction and film noir to create this unique exploration of human condition.”
Scott’s original film depicted a dystopian Los Angeles with replicants genetically engineered to look indistinguishable from real humans. The use of replicants has been banned on Earth and they are reserved for dangerous work in off-world colonies.
Harrison Ford played Rick Deckard, a member of special police operatives known as Blade Runners who hunted down rogue replicants who evaded the ban. The plot focuses on Rick as he pursues a group of replicants hiding out in Los Angeles.
The 1982 film grossed $32.87 million worldwide against a production budget of $28 million, according toBox Office Mojo. Although the film underperformed in North America, it has gained the status of a cult favorite. It was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1993.
Although Villeneuve’s upcoming film is yet to be titled, it is scheduled to begin principal photography sometime this month. It features the return of Ford as Rick with the addition of Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, Dave Bautista, Barkhad Abdi, and Mackenzie Davis in the new cast.
Gosling admitted during a previous interview that he was excited for his involvement in the iconic series. He said, “As an actor, to be a part of a project like this is unbelievable. It’s unreal, but they are being very secret about the project… Obviously Blade Runner is a seminal science fiction movie. It really set the bar, and is probably one of the most borrowed-from science fiction films, aside from Alien.”
He added, “There’s certainly a lot of excitement around the project… There’s a huge responsibility as well.”
‘Blade Runner 2’ is an untitled sequel scheduled to be released on October 6, 2017. It is directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. It is produced under Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Thunderbird Films, Torridon Films, and Warner Bros.