‘Blade Runner’ directed by Ridley Scott, comfortably sits in the pantheon of incredibly influential sci-fi films that completely tanked at the box office. The original starred Harrison Ford in between ‘Star Wars’ movies and before ‘Indiana Jones’ and is considered a high mark in the genre. This is all despite the nebulous ending that left viewers to form their own conclusions.
This classic has been recut numerous times with so many versions on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and regular TV that no one seems to know which is the “real” version of the film. But its impact is inarguable and over 30 years later, a sequel is due to hit theaters… but when?
It was slated to surface on January 12, 2018, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, which was an odd destination, but at least it would be up against minimal competition. Now it seems that rather than dump this film in the January wasteland, Alcon Entertainment has chosen to move it to another date which may or may not be more suited for a major sci-fi epic: October 6, 2018.
On the one hand, that could alleviate pressure on the cast and crew and allow added time for post-production (special effects). But the negative is that ‘Blade Runner 2’ could now face much stiffer competition. Maybe.
20th Century Fox has slated a Marvel movie to be released on the same date. It is unclear what movie that is, but it could potentially be ‘Deadpool 2‘, ‘New Mutants‘ or even the troubled ‘Gambit‘ movie. Warner Brothers has also staked out this date for an unannounced “event film.” Once again, it’s not clear what the movie could be and since Fox and WB haven’t officially announced what films they want to slot into this date, things could easily change on their parts.
What do you think of this change in release dates? Does this spell trouble for ‘Blade Runner 2’?
“BLADE RUNNER” SEQUEL WORLDWIDE RELEASE DATE
MOVES TO OCTOBER 6, 2017
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 20, 2016 – Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright and Dave Bautista, will now be released worldwide on October 6, 2017, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Warner Bros will release the film in North America and Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.
The film, initially set for a January 12, 2018 North American release, will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). Principal photography is scheduled to begin July 2016.
The sequel, set several decades after the original, is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details are not being revealed.
Multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (Sicario, Prisoners) will reunite with Villeneuve on the project.
Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.
Ridley Scott will serve as Executive Producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will also serve as executive producers along with Bill Carraro.
Source: Collider
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