Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins are a match made in cinematic heaven. From Prisoners to the pulse-pounding Sicario, the award-winning double act has produced a collection of visually arresting images that are so expertly crafted it’s difficult to tear your eyes off them.
That looks set to continue later this year with the release of Blade Runner 2049, the long-in-development sequel that will see Villeneuve and Deakins complete the hat-trick in style – and harken back to Ridley Scott’s genre-defining original in more ways than one, but more on that later.
Nipping at the heels of today’s neon-soaked trailer reveal, Warner Bros. has pumped out a trio of high-res screenshots featuring K (Ryan Gosling) and Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in the midst of a cagey exchange. The former is a hotshot Replicant hunter for the LAPD while Deckard, a man who has spent the past 30 years in hiding, is essentially the old guard of 2049, and may well be the key as K sets off on his psychedelic, mind-bending odyssey.
As part of today’s unveiling, WB hosted a Q&A with Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, and Polygon was on hand to relay the former’s comments about the advances in technology between Blade Runner and its long-brewing sequel.
I think it’s fascinating that the original film predicted a technology that in many ways we’ve surpassed and in other ways, we’re not quite there. This film does take into account the 30 years that have passed. It references technologies that actually are in place now. To me, which is a little bit more interesting, it acknowledges and deals with some of the ethical considerations that technology presents us with.
While Blade Runner 2049 is all set to acknowledge the time jump between both movies, today’s gorgeous trailer serves as a pointed reminder that Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins have made a concerted effort to channel the spirit of Ridley Scott’s seminal space oddity. The compilation trailer below illustrates those similarities rather perfectly.
“Your story isn’t over yet. There’s still a page left.” Blade Runner 2049 descends into theaters on October 6th.
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.
