‘Blade Runner 2’ Film, Updates: Director Denis Villeneuve Admits Challenges of Adapting Ridley Scott’s Classic, No Final Cut for Sequel Yet

‘Blade Runner 2’ director Denis Villeneuve admitted that doing a sequel to Ridley Scott’s science-fiction classic has its own challenges. He also admitted that he doesn’t have the final cut for the sequel yet.

According to the Independent, Villeneuve admitted that adapting Ridley Scott’s classic tech-noir and science-fiction film from the 1980s will be quite the challenge. He said during at Venice Film Festival, "First of all, it's not possible to live up to the original… It's Ridley Scott. It's one of the best sci-fi films, one of the best films in the past 50 years."

He continued, "For me, what terrorizes me right now is what I'm doing is taking Blade Runner and making it my own, and that is horrific... It’s still the same universe, we are still in the same dream, but it’s mine, so it’s like I have no idea how you people will react."

Scott’s original film was released on June 25, 1982 to mixed reviews. According to The Numbers, the film earned $33.14 million worldwide against a production budget of $28 million.

Although it underperformed in North America, it was deemed as a cult classic and was selected for preservation at the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It is also regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction films in the history of cinema by many critics.

It starred Harrison Ford as blade runner Rick Deckard, a special agent for Los Angeles department tasked at hunting down bioengineered androids - replicants - after they’ve been banned from Earth. The 74-year old actor is set to reprise his role in Villeneuve’s sequel and is joined by Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Mackenzie Davis, Barkad Abdhi, Lennie James, and Ana de Armas in the new cast.

During a recent interview with Variety, Villeneuve talked about wanting to adapt more science-fiction properties. He said, “I had been wanting to do sci-fi for a very long time. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a movie that really impressed me as a teenager. And also “Blade Runner.” And “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is also one of my favorites.”

He continued, “I’m always looking for sci-fi material, and it’s difficult to find original and strong material that’s not just about weaponry. A longstanding dream of mine is to adapt “Dune,” but it’s a long process to get the rights, and I don’t think I will succeed. Also I would love to write something myself. I have two [sci-fi] projects right now that are in very stages. It’s too early to talk about them.”

When asked if he had the final cut to ‘Blade Runner 2’, he replied, “I agreed to do it because the producers behind “Blade Runner” [Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove] are two friends. I made “Prisoners” with them, and I knew the environment they would create around me would be very secure. I don’t really have final cut on it.”

He added, “The thing I realized about final cut, is it’s the power of the best cut. I didn’t have final cut on “Prisoners,” but what you saw is the best cut. “Sicario” is a directors’ cut, “Arrival” is a directors’ cut. I cannot talk about it, I will see. My relationship with the people I am working with is very strong. At the end of the day what will win is the best movie.”

‘Blade Runner 2’ is an upcoming science-fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. It is intended as the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 film and is produced by Warner Bros., Alcon Entertainment, 16:14 Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Thunderbird Films, and Torridon Films.

The sequel is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2017.