Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is one of the most highly regarded pieces of science fiction cinema, lauded for its vision of the future, performances, and philosophical quandaries. With Denis Villeneuve‘s sequel Blade Runner 2049 only a few months away, many audiences are nervous that it will be a cash-in on the existing property and won’t pay the necessary respects to the film that came before it. Star Ryan Gosling assured audiences that Villeneuve was loyal to the original film when creating this new story when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.
Of the director’s approach to this continuation of the story, Gosling confirmed, “[He was] so loyal to the original, but at the same time wasn’t intimidated by it.”
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Last year, Villeneuve gave audiences one of the biggest sci-fi hits of the year with Arrival, which went on to earn eight Oscar nominations and take home the gold for Best Sound Editing. Based on the short story “The Story of Your Life,” the film showed a group of extraterrestrials landing on earth, causing the military to bring in the most recognized scientists to try to interact with the creatures, which resulted in the humans learning things as much about the visitors as they learned about themselves.
Prior to Arrival, Villeneuve also gave audiences 2013’s Enemy, which was based on a novel by the same name, and his next project will be an adaptation of the book Dune, a seminal work of science fiction. Considering his successful track record with adapting previously existing stories into movies, signs point towards the director being one of the filmmakers most capable of continuing the Blade Runner legacy.
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Gosling also understands the task he’s taken on by starring in a sequel to such a beloved film, as he explained his connection to Ridley Scott’s masterpiece.
“It’s iconic for a reason. It’s a very deep and powerful and haunting film. It leaves you with more questions than answers and, as a kid, I wasn’t used to that,” the actor revealed. “I was used to things being sewn up for me. It was exciting as a fan to know that some of those questions might get answered, and to go back into that universe and explore that world and see how things evolved.”
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Blade Runner 2049 opens in theaters Oct 10, 2017.
In Blade Runner 2049, thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Blade Runner 2049 is directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. The film stars Rick Deckard, with Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto.
