A sequel to Ridley Scott‘s ground-breaking take on Philip K. Dick‘s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (that would be Blade Runner) has been bandied about for years and years, to the point that most people assumed it would never get made. But with Scott having one hell of a sci-fi resurgence as of late, thanks to his upcoming Prometheus, Blade Runner 2 is no longer just a dream. And it’s getting more firepower behind it than we could have ever hoped for.
According to a new press release from Warner Bros. (via ComingSoon), Hampton Fancher is in talks to reunite with Scott to “develop the idea for the original screenplay” for the sequel. Fancher, of course, first conceived of what would become Blade Runner with Scott years ago, but back then, they envisioned it as the first in a series of films, not just a single film. How funny that their idea has finally come around. Fancher is also an actor and a fiction writer, and he’s penned some other screenplays, such as The Minus Man.
The release also confirms that the new film will indeed be a sequel to the first, and that it will take place “some years after” the original Blade Runner. With Fancher’s return nearly secured, who else might we expect to come back for more?
The Blade Runner sequel has been talked about seriously since last March, with Alcon Entertainment pumping up interest with some roundabout conversations about how the film would play out (“how” in many ways – both in how it would even get made and how it would reflect on the first film), though Scott didn’t officially sign on until last August. In November, Scott talked about getting a writer on the project and that the film was “liable to be a sequel,” so while all that took some time to pan out, pan out it did.