So the upcoming sequel to Prometheus isn’t the only thing Ridley Scott is teasing during his promotional tour for The Martian. While Scott is calling back to Alien with that sequel, he’s also reaching back to the past with his sequel to the sci-fi classic Blade Runner. He took a moment to chat with Yahoo and dropped quite a few little tidbits about the next adventure for Deckard and his replicant pals, starting with how the time shift will play out on the screen and work in Harrison Ford’s age. Obviously there will be spoilers below, so beware:
Asked when the film will be set, Scott offers bluntly, “It was 2017, so coming back it’ll be 2047, roughly,” while adding praise for Ryan Gosling, who will co-star with Harrison Ford and carry the franchise going forward. “As young as you can play Ryan Gosling. He’s 34, but he looks 27 when he’s doing his push-ups. So maybe 2050.”
Ryan Gosling taking over the lead role seems to be hinting at a new sequel or series of sequels, keeping folks in business and keeping fans discussing the quality of said business. Now Scott won’t be directing this sequel himself, giving the director’s chair to Denis Villeneuve (Sicario / Prisoners). That doesn’t mean he’s out of the loop when it comes to the story and final cut:
“I mean, I always have final cut on everything, really. Partly because I’m very user-friendly. I always believe when you’re given X amount of money by someone to f**k around with and make a movie, you can’t draw lines in the sand. If I was an investor and you did that to me, I’d remove your ankles. So don’t do the auteur s**t. I respect the guy for giving the money and I respect the studio for saying, ‘Yeah, you want to do this, here we go.’”
And yeah, he even dropped a bit of a spoiler during the entire thing (though, it might not be much of a spoiler if you’ve believed him all these years). But yeah, it would seem that Deckard is firmly in the replicant camp now:
“Of course he’s a bloody Replicant! He’s going to have to admit it.”
I’m sure Ford would care if he was a little bit younger. Nowadays, I just get the feeling that he’s more worried about collecting a nice payday and doing good work. Kill him, shoot him, throw him down a well, or make him some sort of damn synthetic being. It’s all good as long as he’s getting paid. Just taking that off his recent string of work.
