Alcon Entertainment announced development on a new Blade Runner movie last year to much dismay.  However, the fan base was drawn back in with the follow-up announcement that Ridley Scott will return to direct.  Up until now, it sounded as if there was no chance Harrison Ford would reprise his starring role in what Scott says is “liable to be a sequel.”  Alcon president Andrew Kosgrove stated, “If you’re asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford, the answer is no.”  Ford spoke about the project from a distance: “I wouldn’t feel bad if I were not invited to the party.”  Scott said the movie will not follow the original characters, including Ford’s Deckard.  Can’t be much clearer than that.  And yet…

Twitch hears Ford has entered into early talks to join the sequel.  They offer no further details, so it’s possible the semantics allow for him to cameo or play a different character.  But this diverges greatly from the company line, especially if he will reprise the role of Deckard.  More after the jump.

Scott Z. Burns has become my favorite new screenwriter, coming off a pair of killer scripts in The Informant! and Contagion.  The success has set him on the path of the blockbuster remake— currently, Burns is reuniting with Steven Soderbergh for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and working on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea script for David Fincher.  A new report suggests Burns will soon be summoned by another high profile director to write for yet another big property: Twitch hears Burns is the top choice of director Ridley Scott—as well as studio backers Alcon and Warner Bros—to write the new Blade Runner movie.

Not much is known about the story or the exact nature of the new Blade Runner.  A recent Alcon press release calls it a “follow up,” but admits, “The filmmakers have not yet revealed whether the theatrical project will be a prequel or sequel to the renowned original.”  I’ll wait until we know more before I get too excited.  But if Burns gets involved, I am more interested than I was yesterday.  Read the synopsis for the original 1982 Blade Runner after the jump.

Update: Steve here.  While I’d like this story to be true, I’m hearing it’s not. I don’t have 100% confirmation, but I’m pretty sure. More as we hear it.

Every once in a while, I like to remind readers that our weekly “Top 5″ is a perpetual “work in progress.” That in mind, if you ever find yourself thinking, “Man, I wish Jason wasn’t such an idiot and would do this or that with the ‘Top 5′,” then I’m inviting you to either leave your suggestion in the comments section and/or e-mail me (colliderjason@gmail.com). The goal is to make the weekly feature as beneficial and entertaining to you, the reader, as possible. So, by all means, let us know if there is something missing that you would like to see. Now, with that out of the way…

In this week’s installment, you’ll find all of our video interviews with the cast of Conan the Barbarian, Matt’s editorial documenting what he views as the rise and fall of cult status, the first trailer and 34 hi-res images from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, news confirming all of our worst fears regarding a Blade Runner follow-up, and our visit to the Alamo Drafthouse to check out the new Fright Night with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Hit the jump for links and brief recaps for each.

Ridley Scott is returning to the Alien franchise (or at least with a film that has “Alien‘s DNA”) with the upcoming sci-fi flick Prometheus.  Now he’s revisiting another classic from his past as Alcon Entertainment has sent out a press release announcing that Scott will direct and produce a new installment of Blade Runner.  For those unfamiliar with the original, the 1982 sci-fi thriller was loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s short story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” [Correction: It's a novel, not a short story] and starred Harrison Ford as Richard Deckard, a burnt-out “Blade Runner” assigned to track down and destroy rogue superhuman androids known as “replicants”.  However, he then falls in love with one and there’s also some ambiguity as to whether or not Deckard may be a replicant himself.

Hit the jump for more details on this intriguing project. [Update: We've updated the story with the press release, which you can check out after the jump.] [Update #2: Alcon producer Andrew Kosgrove has stated that the earliest production could begin would be 2013, with a possible 2014 release, and said that it's unlikely that Harrison Ford would be involved in the film. His quotes have been included after the jump.]