After much deliberation and rumors to the contrary, Blade Runner 2 is officially happening, and now Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited sci-fi sequel has a release date to prove it.
Set to descend into theaters on January 12, 2018, Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment officially confirmed that Harrison Ford is set to reprise his seminal role as Rick Deckard, with newcomer Ryan Gosling rounding out the preliminary cast for now. Warner will handle domestic distribution during 2018’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend – the only film to share a release date with Blade Runner 2 for now is animated sequel Sherlock Gnomes – while Sony Picture will handle international duties.
Hot off a stellar one-two punch in the form of Prisoners and Sicario, Villeneuve will reteam with the inimitable Roger Deakins calling the shots as DP. But there’s old blood coursing through the veins of Blade Runner 2, and we’re not just referring to the return of Ford.
Villeneuve will be working from a script produced by Hampton Fancher – co-writer on the original – and Michael Green. Ridley Scott, meanwhile, mastermind behind the genre-defining original, helped bring the story to life during those long years spent on the shelf.
Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, to star Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford (reprising his role as Rick Deckard), and to be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sciario, Prisoners), will be released by Warner Bros. in North America on January 12, 2018, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.
It’s been a busy day in the sequel camp, with John Wick 2 seemingly securing a 2017 release date, a San Andreas sequel getting the go-ahead at New Line, and now Blade Runner 2, which is on course to hit theaters on January 12, 2018.