Ack! They're Making 'Blade Runner 2'!?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, RumorMonger, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels
.jpg)
Wait, stop -- don't throw yourself out that window just yet! It may or may not be as bad as it looks/sounds. According to Slashfilm, one of their readers attended a Q&A session with one of the writers of Eagle Eye, which was hosted by Creative Screenwriting magazine. During said Q&A, the writer, Travis Wright, said that he and his partner John Glenn were working through "various treatments for a Blade Runner sequel over the last couple years." Apparently, they've been working alongside Blade Runner co-executive producer Bud Yorkin, and all of this has been done outside the studio system -- meaning this is in no way a done deal, only that these writers are trying to put together their best package in the hopes a studio will bite.
As of right now, Ridley Scott is nowhere near the project (although both guys are working on a Warriors remake for Tony Scott), and given the somewhat negative reaction to Eagle Eye, I imagine most fans will take a similar approach. In my opinion, Blade Runner is a film you don't touch and you don't sequel-ize, but perhaps I'm in the minority. Maybe there's a very cool way of doing it -- maybe I'm wrong, and maybe this is a project fans can get behind. What do you think? Blade Runner 2? Could it happen? Would you watch it?
Update: Eagle Eye co-writer John Glenn responded via email to this. Here's part of what he said: "There was a point where Travis and I were working with Bud Yorkin on a sequel to Blade Runner, but that was years back. It never got too far off the ground because the movie is so perfect, so the more we thought about it, the more uneasy we became with the idea. Anyway, just an note to clear the air." More over at Slashfilm.
_thumbnail.jpg)
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-29-2008 @ 3:42PM
jrc123 said...
Only if Shia LeBeouf is in it.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 3:56PM
Jacob said...
I say leave it alone. Blade Runner is a masterpiece the way it is; Don't milk it for all its worth with a sequel.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:10PM
Richard said...
No way. Blade Runner is too good. Do you make a sequel of "Citizen Kane"? OK, maybe "Blade Runner" isn't THAT good, but it's the same principal.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:11PM
Peter Hall said...
Of course leave it alone, but of course I'll watch it should the disaster ever strike. Because I, like everyone else, revel in the execution of bad ideas.
Or maybe I'm the only one who watched a marathon of "Destroyed in Seconds" yesterday on the Discovery Channel.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:19PM
The Kid said...
No need for a sequel but a movie based in the same world I wouldn't mind.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:25PM
MCW said...
Yeah, sequel all the way, I want to know what happens next as much as everyone else here is scared to admit to!
Count me in as a paying customer.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:50PM
Peter Hall said...
I really do not want to know. The closing shot of Blade Runner (Director's cut onwards, at least) is one of my favorite in cinema. The hand held camera trembling with uncertainty as it tries to rush in and follow the adventure, but the doors close and we must part.
Why ruin that? No expansion needed.
9-29-2008 @ 4:42PM
Dante said...
Wait, a remake of Warriors? As in "Warriors, come out and play!"? No no no.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:42PM
John said...
Didn't they make a TV sequel for Gone with the Wind? How did that go? Hey, how about those sequels to Jaws; are any of them any good? Did 2010 match against 2001, a Space Odyssey?
There have been very, very few worthy sequels, eg. Bride of Frankenstein, The Godfather Part 2, Aliens and T2. So, if history is a guide, we need James Cameron to rework his magic following another Ridley Scott Masterpiece. Even then, the risk is too high that all that'll happen is that they'll soil BladeRunner's memory.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 11:38PM
Rvega said...
jrc123 you are a f**king idiot shia? wtf are you talking aboutr you should be curbed stomped
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 4:54PM
eugene said...
What would be the point? some of what makes BR so great is the ambiguity of the story, going back and filling in the blanks would ruin one of the best features of the movie.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 5:07PM
filmsuki said...
I'm all for a compromise; don't call it Blade Runner 2, but having it exist in the same Blade Runner universe. That's what they did with that "Soldier" Kurt Russell movie, and it could work again (except hopefully with less suckage).
Frankly I think we should make more movies that share universes with successful franchises. It allows for some teasing and fan service, without tying directly into the original's plot.
Reply
9-29-2008 @ 5:54PM
Mimi said...
Without Ridley involved, this is a bad idea.
Some things should be allowed to stand alone.
Reply
9-30-2008 @ 7:13AM
fanshawe said...
Why can't they go hack Casablanca or Citizen Kane for once? Why must it always be a science fiction classic? First, J.J. gets Trek, then McG does Terminator and now this? Not greedy or pretentious at all.
If it somehow ends up happening, I'd like to see Shia as Deckard. His genius would just underline the cleverness of the idea.
I think I'm gonna boycott Eagle Eye just to shake that symbolic geek fist at this latest wanker.
Fanshawe
http://www.cinemarealm.com
Reply
9-30-2008 @ 10:17AM
dave said...
Bladerunner is hardly a classic. It's dark and muddled and not really worth a sequel anyways.
Until the directors cut it wasn't even a good movie. Now its decent but nothing more.
Reply
9-30-2008 @ 2:12PM
Drev said...
Shia LeBeouf is not a genius. What makes any of you think any different?
There is a reason they are making or have made more Batman's, or Superman's, or Terminator's, or Star Trek's. THEY ARE FRANCHISES. Blade Runner is not.
The actual fan base for this 'to-be' movie would be insulted by the consideration of acceptance. If it were to get any closer to actual consideration for production, those who matter in the blogging and Sci-Fi world would destroy its reputation before it got off the ground.
This will not come to fruit because it cannot. There will be those who will not let it.
Again, seriously, Shia LeBouf? This boy crush needs to stop. His best roll was his voice in 'Surfs Up'.
Reply
9-30-2008 @ 3:21PM
Premaximum said...
I say no to Blade Runner. However, something that's set in a very similar world with an amazing plot that I'd love to see made into a film is "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said.", another work by Philip K. Dick.
I'm honestly surprised PKD hasn't had more of his books brought to cinema...they're all pretty incredible.
Reply
10-01-2008 @ 9:39AM
sharky said...
jrc123's comment about Shia LeBeouf is a joke. I can't believe you guys took the bait.
I think too much time has passed to do an effective Blade Runner sequel simply because Harrison Ford is so old now. They would have to find a suitable replacement. There were 3 novels that came after Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which continue the story. K.W. Jeter was the author and they were made official and authorized by Dick himself. However, regardless of whether the book is good or not it can still be a bad movie of done poorly. Anyone remember Total Recall or Screamers? Yeah, bad movies can be made from good Phillip K. Dick books.
Reply
10-01-2008 @ 9:02PM
XdudeX said...
If your gonna ruin a classic, don't do a sequel, just remake it. They didn't do a sequel for king kong, they didn't do a sequel for 3:10 to Yuma, they did for Jaws which turned out horrid.
Reply
10-02-2008 @ 1:02AM
Drev said...
This is a rebuttal to my first post... for the sake of it
As far as sequels go
There is no defined result for what could happen. Many would like a sequel, they would like to see where that world continues; and many wouldn't because they want to cherish the original for its own individual essence.
But, as we have seen with many a movie, a sequel is not necessarily a bad thing. Godfather 2 was better than the first, one can argue that Alien(s) was as good or better than the original (personally I don't). Terminator 2 was BY far better than the original. Just some examples. And there are those that were worse than the first and so on. Die Hard is all up and down, so is Star Wars, so are all of the Star Treks.
We cannot as a community jump to the conclusion that it would be horrible before we have the ability to judge the movie itself.
To address Ford being to old to retake his roll. This is true, he is old, but, could it be possible that he plays a different type of roll, perhaps a guide to a younger version of himself. He actually good take up his roll as an older version of his character and take the whole context of human vs. android, humanity vs. inhumanity, is "retirement" ethical. There is a possibility to infuse this very dreary dystopia with a new look.
All this being said, if Shia LeBouf was cast in it, I would personally take a vested interest in shutting down the movie. The obsession we have with this kid is obnoxious.
Reply