Ridley Scott describes the opening of Blade Runner 2

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

While some directors follow the J.J. Abrams school of thought when it comes to revealing any information about their films, others, like Ridley Scott, will simply lay out entire scenes if you ask them. A sequel to Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER is in the works from SICARIO director Denis Villeneuve, but Scott is still very much involved in the process. The director spoke at the AFI Film Fest where he outlined the opening scene of the BLADE RUNNER sequel. If you'd like to avoid any type of spoiler, consider this your warning.

The rest of you, read on!

We decided to start the film off with the original starting block of the original film. We always loved the idea of a dystopian universe, and we start off at what I describe as a ‘factory farm’ – what would be a flat land with farming. Wyoming. Flat, not rolling – you can see for 20 miles. No fences, just plowed, dry dirt. Turn around and you see a massive tree, just dead, but the tree is being supported and kept alive by wires that are holding the tree up. It’s a bit like Grapes of Wrath, there’s dust, and the tree is still standing. By that tree is a traditional, Grapes of Wrath-type white cottage with a porch. Behind it at a distance of two miles, in the twilight, is this massive combine harvester that’s fertilizing this ground. You’ve got 16 Klieg lights on the front, and this combine is four times the size of this cottage. And now a spinner [a flying car] comes flying in, creating dust. Of course, traditionally chased by a dog that barks, the doors open, a guy gets out and there you’ve got Rick Deckard. He walks in the cottage, opens the door, sits down, smells stew, sits down and waits for the guy to pull up to the house to arrive. The guy’s seen him, so the guy pulls the combine behind the cottage and it towers three stories above it, and the man climbs down from a ladder – a big man. He steps onto the balcony and he goes to Harrison’s side. The cottage actually [creaks]; this guy’s got to be 350 pounds. I’m not going to say anything else – you’ll have to go see the movie.

After spending much of the first film in a neon soaked dystopian Los Angeles, the promise of exploring some other locations feels very interesting. The BLADE RUNNER sequel will see Harrison Ford returning to his role of Rick Deckard and will also star Ryan Gosling, who just officially confirmed his involvement to Collider. I remain somewhat skeptical about the prospect of a BLADE RUNNER sequel, but when I take into account the talent involved with the film, I can't help but be excited. Denis Villeneuve directing a BLADE RUNNER film lensed by Roger Deakins and starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling? Bring it on.

Production on BLADE RUNNER 2 should kick off next summer.