Blade Runner is a movie entirely about subtlety, hidden meaning, and exploring the themes of existence (if you’re not watching the theatrical cut, that is) and for the past 34 years, we’ve been left wondering what other, richer themes could be explored in a future world full of replicants. Next year, we’ll get our answer in Denis Villeneuve‘s vision of the future, and we now know not only what the movie will be called but the exact year in which it will be set in a real two-tears-with-one-raindrop situation: Blade Runner 2049, which puts it exactly 30 years after the original.
While that’s not a ton of new information, it does give us a few ideas we can extrapolate; for example, this means Harrison Ford‘s Rick Deckard who will be appearing in the movie is 30 years older. If he is indeed a replicant himself–something that has been a mystery since the director’s cut–then that means he, or someone else, has figured a way to extend the life of a replicant, which is exactly what the late Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) wanted and was the reason Deckard got dispatched in the first place. And if he doesn’t end up being a replicant, then we can imagine Rachael (Sean Young) perished long ago and he’s been living in seclusion alone since.
At any rate, that’s all speculation. What we do know is that Ford will be reprising his role and that Ryan Gosling will be the star in some capacity. In a way to bridge the gap, as it were, Warner Bros. released a promotional still of Gosling, Ford, Villeneuve, and original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, who will also serve as producer on Blade Runner 2049.
We’ve been knocked out by all of Villeneuve’s films to date (Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy) and we just saw Arrival and flipped for it. So having Villeneuve at the helm of a sequel to such a distinctive vision of the future–along with a script by original film writer Hampton Fancher and American Gods creator Michael Green–has us beyond stoked for seeing more androids dream of electric sheep.
Produced by Alcon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros, Blade Runner 2049 will hit theaters on October 6, 2017.
What do you think we’ll get in the future of 2049? Are any of you replicants (and would you know it)? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: Warner Bros.
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and a sci-fi film freak. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
In other Harrison Ford sci-fi news, here’s why Han Solo is a time traveler:
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