All eyes are on Ridley Scottâs pseudo Alien follow-up Prometheus this summer, but the director is also working on revisiting another one of his sci-fi classics. Last August it was announced that Scott would be directing a new Blade Runner movie. Heâs been developing the filmânow confirmed to be a sequelâwhile putting the finishing touches on Prometheus, and now itâs been announced that Scott is bringing an old friend into the fray. Hampton Fancher, who wrote the original Blade Runner, is in talks to develop and write a sequel to their groundbreaking 1982 film. Hit the jump for more.No details are given plot-wise other than the fact that this new film will take place âsome years after the first film concluded.â The press release mentions that Fancher and Scott initially intended Blade Runner to be the first in a series of films incorporating the themes and characters found in Philip K. Dickâs novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, but circumstances kept further films from coming to fruition. I havenât read Dickâs novel, so I donât know what characters or themes this could be in reference too, but Iâm beyond thrilled to see Scott taking such an interest in sci-fi as of late.Scott himself confirmed that Harrison Ford wonât be returning for the sequel, and in a best-case scenario filming wouldnât begin any sooner than 2013. The director is next set to direct the Cormac McCarthy-scripted drama The Counselor, which begins production next month. Scott is also said to be keen on a sequel to Prometheus should that film do well this summer, so Iâm guessing if Prometheus takes off heâll make that follow-up his post-Counselor film while he and Fancher continue to develop the script for this Blade Runner sequel. Nevertheless, exciting stuff is afoot.Read the press release below:
LOS ANGELES, CA, MAY 17, 2012âHampton Fancher is in talks to reunite with his âBlade Runnerâ director Ridley Scott to develop the idea for the original screenplay for the Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free, and Bud Yorkin produced follow up to the ground-breaking 1982 science fiction classic, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-Chief Executive Officers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.
The filmmakers are also revealing for the first time that the much-anticipated project is intended to be a sequel to the renowned original. The filmmakers would reveal only that the new story will take place some years after the first film concluded.
The three-time Oscar-nominated Scott and his âBlade Runnerâ collaborator Fancher originally conceived of their 1982 classic as the first in a series of films incorporating the themes and characters featured in Philip K. Dick's groundbreaking novel âDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", from which âBlade Runnerâ was adapted. Circumstances, however, took Scott into other directions and the project never advanced.
Fancher, although a writer of fiction, was known primarily as an actor at the time Scott enlisted him to adapt the Dick novel for the screen. Fancher followed his âBlade Runnerâ success with the screenplays, âThe Mighty Quinnâ (1989) and âThe Minus Manâ (1999). He has continued to write fiction throughout his career.
Scott also will produce with Alcon co-founders and co-Chief Executive Officers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove as well as Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEOâs of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers.
The original film, which has been singled out as the greatest science-fiction film of all time by a majority of genre publications, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1993 and is frequently taught in university courses. In 2007, it was named the 2nd most visually influential film of all time by the Visual Effects Society.
State Kosove and Johnson: âIt is a perfect opportunity to reunite Ridley with Hampton on this new project, one in fact inspired by their own personal collaboration, a classic of cinema if there ever was one.â
Released by Warner Bros. almost 30 years ago, "Blade Runner" was adapted by Fancher and David Peoples from Philip K. Dick's groundbreaking novel âDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and directed by Scott following his landmark âAlien.â The film was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction). Following the filming of âBlade Runner,â the first of Philip K. Dickâs works to be adapted into a film, many other of Dickâs works were likewise adapted, including âTotal Recall,â âA Scanner Darkly,â âMinority Report,â âPaycheck,â and the recent âThe Adjustment Bureau,â among others.
ABOUT ALCON ENTERTAINMENT Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEO's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson founded the Company in 1997 with financial backing from Frederick W. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx. Alcon, which is named after a mythological archer and ally of Hercules, has financed, and/or co-financed/produced over 19 films, including âMy Dog Skip,â âDude, Whereâs My Car?â, âInsomnia,â âRacing Stripes,â the Academy Award nominated Best Picture âThe Blind Side,â which earned Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar; âThe Book of Eli,â starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman; âInsomnia,â starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank and directed by Chris Nolan; âThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,â and âP.S. I Love You,â starring Hilary Swank, among many others.
Alcon is currently in production on âBeautiful Creatures,â based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, starring Jack OâConnell, Alice Englert, Viola Davis and Emma Thompson. Richard LaGravenese will direct from his adaptation of the novel, which is the first of a hugely popular series.
The Company recently released the box-office success âDolphin Tale,â a 3-D family film starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson, released via Alconâs output deal with Warner Bros.