Blade Runner is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I’ll admit, I felt really worried when it was announced that Ridley Scott was developing a sequel to his 1982 classic. The original film’s unique tone, wonderful characterization, and fascinating ambiguous ending just seem completely ill-suited for a sequel.
But the more I hear about the project, the more I’m warming to the idea. Though original star Harrison Ford will appear in a cameo, Scott has made it clear this isn’t a continuation of Rick Deckard’s story, but a new foray into the original film’s world, with a new female protagonist to boot. That, to me, sounds much more interesting; the Blade Runner universe is plenty rich to demand further exploration, so long as Scott and screenwriter Hampton Fancher don’t feel compelled to clarify the compelling mysteries of the original movie.
In an interview with Collider, Scott fills me with even greater confidence as he describes his vision for a scene in the sequel. It sounds like he’s really thought this out, and that more importantly, he’s intent on exploring new directions:
“There’ll be a vast farmland where there are no hedges or anything in sight, and it’s flat like the plains of—where’s the Great Plains in America? Kansas, where you can see for miles. And it’s dirt, but it’s being raked. On the horizon is a combine harvester which is futuristic with klieg lights, ‘cause it’s dawn. The harvester is as big as six houses. In the foreground is a small white clapboard hut with a porch as if it was from Grapes of Wrath. From the right comes a car, coming in about six feet off the ground being chased by a dog. And that’s the end of it, I’m not gonna tell you anything else.”
