Blade Runner 2049 will embrace practical effects over CG as much as possible

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

A sequel to Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER, especially one coming in over thirty years after the original, would normally be enough to make one roll their eyes, but damn if I don't have the utmost faith in Denis Villeneuve's ability to pull this off. At the very least, we know that BLADE RUNNER 2049 will look absolutely exceptional as cinematographer Roger Deakins rarely disappoints, and Villeneuve recently spoke on Variety's podcast to sing Deakins' praises and confirm that the sequel will embrace practical effects over CG whenever possible.

Roger was insanely impressive in how he was able to create landscape with tricks, for me it was beautiful. I think I can count on one hand how many times I saw a green screen in all of those months of shooting. There will be CG enhancements, of course, but as much as possible it was in-camera. Having witnessed what he’s done for months, I think it will be Roger Deakins’ best work. He was deeply inspired by the project.

Villeneuve explained that he's "very old school" when it comes to effects, in fact, he says that he wished he had been able to use animatronics to bring the aliens in ARRIVAL to life rather than resorting to CG.

That was my dream at the beginning [of ‘Arrival’]. We were dreaming to put them in a gigantic aquarium with gigantic beasts that would be moved by puppeteers. But sadly, it would have been too expensive. I hate green screens. It sucks out all my energy. I get depressed. I have an admiration for directors who can work with that on a daily basis. For ‘Blade Runner,’ we tried our best to do as much as possible in-camera, building everything.

The first all-too-brief teaser trailer for BLADE RUNNER 2049 certainly showed off some of those amazing sets, whose scale and beauty apparently "overwhelmed" star Ryan Gosling. I can't wait to see what Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Roger Deakins, Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling have cooked up for us, which is only making the eight-months between now and the October 6, 2017 release of BLADE RUNNER 2049 all the more difficult.