Justin Kroll \/ Variety<\/p>\n
Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> actor Dave Bautista has joined the cast of the Blade Runner<\/em> sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.<\/p>\n Variety first reported last week that Robin Wright is also boarding the movie directed by Sicario<\/em> helmer Denis Villeneuve. The untitled film hits theaters on Jan. 12, 2018.<\/p>\n Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute the film in all overseas territories. Alcon has a longstanding domestic output agreement with Warner Bros.<\/p>\n The screenplays, penned by Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green, and based on a story by Fancher and Ridley Scott, continues several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original \u2014 which was set in a dystopian 2019 Los Angeles.<\/p>\n The original film, based on the 1968 Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?<\/em>, starred Ford as an ex-police officer tracking down escaped genetically engineered replicants who return to Earth illegally in order to extend their four-year life spans. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.<\/p>\n Principal photography on the sequel is scheduled to begin in July, with cinematographer Roger Deakins reuniting with Villeneuve on the project. Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights in 2011 from the late Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Alcon co-chiefs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.<\/p>\n Scott will serve as executive producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEOs of Thunderbird Films, will also serve as executive producers along with Bill Carraro.<\/p>\n