June 25th, 1982 is a day long remembered by old-school science fiction nuts, for it was on this day 35 years ago that Ridley Scott unveiled Blade Runner to the world, only to watch it flop spectacularly at the box office. A $27.5 million box office total was just enough to recoup the cost of production, but it wasn’t long thereafter that Scott’s genre oddity achieved cult status for its provocative themes and mysterious storytelling.
Even to this day, there’s a certain legacy underpinning the Blade Runner series, and that’s a legacy Denis Villeneuve (Dune) will hope to honor in a few months’ time with the launch of Blade Runner 2049, a sequel 35 years in the making. Perhaps the biggest element set to tie the two films together is Rick Deckard, the gruff LAPD detective played by Harrison Ford.
Back in 1982, Ford was the lead star of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece, and fans have long wondered whether his character is a human, or Replicant. In the eyes of the director, the answer is pretty clear-cut: Rick Deckard is an android, and that’s something he expects to be reaffirmed in 2049. What’s particularly interesting is that Villeneuve has gone on record to say that the sequel won’t, in fact, address Ford’s true identity, but Scott says otherwise.
Per IGN:
Oh, it was always my thesis theory. It was one or two people who were relevant were… I can’t remember if Hampton agreed with me or not. But I remember someone had said, “Well, isn’t it corny?” I said, “Listen, I’ll be the best f***ing judge of that. I’m the director, okay?” So, and that, you learn — you know, by then I’m 44, so I’m no f***ing chicken. I’m a very experienced director from commercials and The Duelists and Alien. So, I’m able to, you know, answer that with confidence at the time, and say, “You know, back off, it’s what it’s gonna be.”
Harrison, he was never — I don’t remember, actually. I think Harrison was going, “Uh, I don’t know about that.” I said, “But you have to be, because Gaff, who leaves a trail of origami everywhere, will leave you a little piece of origami at the end of the movie to say, ‘I’ve been here, I left her alive, and I can’t resist letting you know what’s in your most private thoughts when you get drunk is a f***ing unicorn!’” Right? So, I love Beavis and Butthead, so what should follow that is “Duh.” So now it will be revealed [in the sequel], one way or the other.
For better or worse, Blade Runner 2049 will continue that genre-defining legacy on October 6th, and Scott has even entertained the possibility of expanding the franchise a la Alien.
