Stop Blade Runner 2 Before It Starts!

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:20:00 PDT

When I first saw the words "Blade Runner 2," I imagined it was somebody's zany comedy pitch, along the lines of Hamlet 2. I pictured Steve Coogan running around, exploding in a creative frenzy as he figures out the space-time warp that could bring back Roy Batty — maybe there could be a whole half-hour sequence where Roy Batty stands in the rain and lists more stuff he's seen! — and Sexy Jesus could turn out to be a Replicant. Sadly, Blade Runner 2 is not a joke, it's a real project that apparently has one of the original Blade Runner producers involved. The good news is, no studio has yet signed on. Update: Apparently it's definitely not happening. Yay!

Apparently, the co-writers of Eagle Eye — Travis Wright and John Glenn — have been working pretty seriously on a treatment for a Blade Runner sequel for a couple of years, according to Slashfilm. They told an audience during a Q&A after an Eye screening that they've already been in touch with original Runner producer Bud Yorkin (or possibly are already working with him). And they've been working with a "previsualization team" on some hunter action sequences for when they pitch this to the studio. And Slashfilm notes that Wright and Glenn have worked with Ridley Scott's brother Tony on some projects in the past, so they may have an "in" with the Ridley.

Let's hope reason prevails and whoever actually owns the rights to Blade Runner sees what a prodigious waste of money a sequel would be. There are some stories that just don't need to be continued. The only thing that would make this more horrifying is if Harrison Ford turned out to be interested in reprising his role somehow.

Addendum: This is what I get for rushing off to a screening of Blindness and not checking back on the comment thread of this post. Apparently Glenn popped up and said the Blade Runner sequel was shelved ages ago, and he doesn't know why it's still being talked about.

[Slashfilm]

Blade Runner Sequel Rumors Start Replicating

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:30:01 PST

Blade Runner is enjoying a resurgence in popularity — the new cut hit theaters last month, and a five-disc ultra edition coming out on DVD next month. Now, rumors have it that Hollywood may churn out a sequel to this classic about rogue androids and the reluctant "Blade Runner" cop (Harrison Ford) who tracks them down. Author Paul Sammon, who has made an entire career out of talking about the movie, says that Director Ridley Scott is "not loathe" to the idea of a sequel to the classic 1982 film. But a sequel would be a disaster.

Sammon's remarks, which came during a recent interview about his updated book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner are sure to cause involuntary shudders and waves of nausea amongst fans of the original. Although the film is based on Philip K. Dick's classic Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep, author K.W. Jeter has written three novels as sequels to the movie. These novels have generally been panned by critics, and only enjoyed by rabid Blade Runner megafans who long for a return to this dystopian vision of the future, while the rest of us would like to see this film remain untouched, sequel-wise.

Ridley Scott hasn't made a sequel to any of his films, and would rather move on to new territory than revisit somewhere he's been before. Let's hope Sammon's words are just wishful thinking.

Blade Runner II? {SciFi Scanner]

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Stop Blade Runner 2 Before It Starts!

Blade Runner Sequel Rumors Start Replicating