Tucked into a long profile on Ridley Scott and his upcoming Exodus: Gods and Kings is confirmation of something we kind of suspected all along: Scott's not going to direct the Blade Runner sequel, although he will produce. We also now know more about how Harrison Ford's return will be done.
This has been coming for a while, since Scott's got a ton of projects on his plate. The next film is The Martian, which will finish filming later this winter. Scott told Variety that Blade Runner 2 will start filming within a year, which doesn't leave a lot of turn around time between finishing The Martian and starting the sequel. And Scott's listed as the executive producer/possible director of a ton of other projects.
Scott also gave some details about the plot of Blade Runner 2, which he's already developed with developed with the Blade Runnder's co-writer Hampton Fancher. It sounds like finding Deckard's going to be a major plot point:
We talked at length about what it could be, and came up with a pretty strong three-act storyline, and it all makes sense in terms of how it relates to the first one," says Scott, who adds that fans can expect to see Harrison Ford back in the saddle as the futuristic gumshoe Rick Deckard. "Harrison is very much part of this one, but really it's about finding him; he comes in in the third act."
It's sad that Scott won't be returning to the world of Blade Runner, but maybe a new vision is what is needed. But if not Scott, the question of who could step into his shoes is likely to be a big one.
[Variety]