A couple months ago, we reported that Blade Runner 2 was getting the unflattering release date of January 12, 2018. The MLK weekend is an odd place for a sci-fi sequel that brings Harrison Ford back to play one of his iconic roles opposite Ryan Gosling. January is a wasteland, and it seemed like Blade Runner 2 would be buried there before it even got a chance to get going.

But now Alcon Entertainment has announced that Blade Runner 2 will have a far more friendly release date. The movie will now open on October 6, 2017. Granted, it’s not going to be a walk in the park for the sequel. The date is currently playing host to an untitled Fox/Marvel film (possibly Gambit if it ever gets moving) and an untitled WB event film. But if it can withstand the one-two punch of potential blockbusters, then the rest of October 2017 is currently the dramatic thrillers The Snowman and Live by Night, so there’s no genre competition.


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All this being said, I’m still waiting to get excited for Blade Runner 2 since I’m not a huge fan of the original. I’m hoping that this one has a better story (the original is fairly weak, and while it’s visual impact is undeniable, narratively it’s a soulless vessel) because it certainly has a terrific cast that includes not only Ford and Gosling, but also Robin Wright and Dave Bautista.

Here’s the press release:

“BLADE RUNNER” SEQUEL WORLDWIDE RELEASE DATE

MOVES TO OCTOBER 6, 2017

LOS ANGELES, CA, April 20, 2016 – Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright and Dave Bautista, will now be released worldwide on October 6, 2017, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Warner Bros will release the film in North America and Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.

 

The film, initially set for a January 12, 2018 North American release, will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). Principal photography is scheduled to begin July 2016.

 

The sequel, set several decades after the original, is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details are not being revealed.

 

Multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (Sicario, Prisoners) will reunite with Villeneuve on the project.


Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.

 

Ridley Scott will serve as Executive Producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will also serve as executive producers along with Bill Carraro.

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Image via Alcon