Ridley Scott's Blade Runner to Live On in Prequels and Sequels
Posted 03.03.11 by BrentJS
One of the greatest science fiction movies of all time will have new life if a planned deal goes through. In a press release distributed yesterday, Warner Bros.-based production company Alcon Entertainment announced it's in "final discussions to secure film, television and ancillary franchise rights to produce prequels and sequels" of acclaimed director Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, an adaptation of the late Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
While it wasn't a commercial hit during its initial theatrical run in North America, Blade Runner is highly regarded today for its contributions to the sci-fi genre and to cinema in general. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1993 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The movie has landed on countless "Top" lists, including Time's ALL-TIME 100 Movies and the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies, and it claimed the top spot on IGN's Top 25 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time.
Alcon is in negotiations for the rights with Bud Yorkin, co-executive producer of Blade Runner, who would serve as producer on future Blade Runner properties, along with co-founders and co-Chief Executive Officers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. The deal would allow for "projects based on situations introduced in the original film," but would "exclude rights to remake the original." In the release, Johnson and Kosove stated:
We are honored and excited to be in business with Bud Yorkin. This is a major acquisition for our company, and a personal favorite film for both of us. We recognize the responsibility we have to do justice to the memory of the original with any prequel or sequel we produce. We have long-term goals for the franchise, and are exploring multi-platform concepts, not just limiting ourselves to one medium only.
As a refresher, here's the 1982 theatrical trailer for Blade Runner:
And, here's a teaser trailer for Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner, a documentary that accompanied the 25th Anniversary Edition re-release of the movie in 2007: