Engineering a sequel to a film from yesteryear can be a difficult butterfly to pin – for every Jurassic World, there’s a forgettable trainwreck in the vein of Independence Day: Resurgence. In the case of Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve, there’s the added pressure of revisiting what many consider to be one of the most revered works of science fiction ever made, but the filmmaker has stressed that fans of Ridley Scott’s seminal classic will feel right at home on October 6.
Touting the “same genre [and] same atmosphere” as its forebear, Blade Runner 2049 takes place a full 30 years after the original, at a time when Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard – a character who has essentially been AWOL for years – meets with K, an LAPD officer assigned to keep a watchful eye on the city’s Replicants. Ryan Gosling is on board to portray the latter, and will be flanked by House of Cards star Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Mackenzie Davis and many more.
With production now well underway, Villeneuve took time out to speak with The Canadian Press about the lofty expectations surrounding the sequel, and why he considers Blade Runner 2049 to be “the most rewarding and exciting experience” of his life thus far.
“The expectations are for obvious reasons: The first movie was a masterpiece and it’s a very risky, challenging project. But I will say that it has been the most rewarding and exciting experience of my life so far and I’m excited.
On the topic of the film’s tone, the director revealed that 2049 will be rooted in film noir with a dollop of melancholia and a sprinkling of existentialism.
“The first movie was a film noir, quite intense with melancholia and an existential crisis, so we are not far away from the thematics of the first movie, I will say. It’s the same genre, the same atmosphere.”
Come October 6, Denis Villeneuve will welcome moviegoers back onto the neon-drenched streets of future LA with Blade Runner 2049. It’s one of two Ridley Scott classics poised to continue in 2017, with Alien: Covenant being the second. Look for that one to bow on May 19.