What's the deal with Hollywood trying to recapture the glory days by making sequels to movies that were released ten, twenty, even thirty years ago?
Sure, Live Free or Die Hard and Tron: Legacy turned out pretty okay. And Toy Story 3 turned out to be the best of the trilogy, despite coming after a ten-year gap. But for every decent sequel after such a long break, there's plenty of clunkers: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Rambo. Dumb and Dumber To. Blues Brothers 2000. Rocky Balboa. Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Then again, this Christmas we've got Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the stars of the original trilogy, who are reprising their roles for the first time in thirty years. We have to reserve judgment until we see it in December, but everything we've seen and heard so far sounds fantastic.
It's no secret that for years, Ridley Scott has been trying to revisit his 1982 science fiction classic Blade Runner. Three years after he returned to the world of Alien with prequel Prometheus, Scott's ambition is officially happening. And the number one piece of news fans have been waiting to hear about has finally been confirmed: Harrison Ford is officially onboard.
Ridley Scott will produce the film, based on a story he came up with alongside Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original movie. But Scott has opted not to direct this time; instead, Denis Villeneuve is expected to take the reigns. Villeneuve is best known for the superb thriller Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The script, by Fancher and Michael Green, is said to have met with Ford's enthusiastic approval. Green is the writer behind the Green Lantern movie, as well as a long list of TV projects, and is attached to Prometheus 2 and Warner Bros. big-screen version of the Justice League's The Flash.
Filming is expected to begin in mid-2016, for an unknown release date. It's worth remembering that the original Blade Runner was set in the "future date" of 2019, so there could be some nice synchronicity in holding the movie for a release that same year. But it's unlikely any studio would be willing to table a property of this size for that long.
Regardless, here's hoping the new Blade Runner is one of the few long-gapped sequels that beats the odds.
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