Was Deckard a Replicant? We explore in Movie Endings Explained: Blade Runner

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Movie endings, they're usually pretty straight forward right? Everything pays off, the main characters learn something, and our heroes ride off into the sunset. Sometimes though, we don't get the typical ending from a movie, we get something much more nuanced, complex and open ended. The kind of endings that leave things up in the air for all of us to debate and theorise on until we're blue in the face. With Movie Endings Explained, we aim to delve into some of the more ambiguous and mysterious endings to films that have left audiences scratching their heads for years, and to attempt to explain them. In most cases, a definitive answer isn't really there, so we definitely want to hear from YOU on how you interpret the various endings we'll be discussing with this series.

With the recent release of BLADE RUNNER 2049 still fresh in our minds, it seemed an appropriate time to revist the original 1982 classic, directed by Ridley Scott: BLADE RUNNER. A dense sci-fi neo noir piece, the film failed to hit with critics or audiences when it was initially released, but has gone on to be hailed as one of the finest works in science fiction cinema history. Set in a dystopian future Los Angeles in 2019, the film follows Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard, a Blade Runner, as he hunts down and "retires" dangerous synthetic androids called Replicants. By the end of the film, and especially with the later Director's Cut and Final Cut in 2007, the idea is presented that perhaps Deckard was himself a Replicant all along. Which would be an ironic twist in a film that is all about what it is to be human.

However, the question of whether Rick Deckard is a Replicant or not is seemingly one without any resolution. Sci-fi fans have debated its true answer for decades, so we look into some of the clues in the film, and hear the wildly different opinions of the people who made the movie, from Harrison Ford to Ridley Scott and even the screenwriter Hampton Fancher, who appears to be adamant that there should be no definitive explanation. We also cover a key scene from BLADE RUNNER 2049 that may or may not play into the central Deckard mystery in the video below, but what do you think? Is Deckard a Replicant?