“Blade Runner 2049” is on the way, and judging by the recently released timeline exploring what has happened between the original film and sequel, a lot of thought has been put into it. However, the upcoming film from Denis Villeneuve is not the first time the idea of a followup to the 1982 sci-fi classic has been considered. In fact, not along after “Blade Runner” originally opened, concepts were being tossed around about a possible followup, and screenwriter Hampton Fancher has revealed one of the earliest ideas that was being toyed with.
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Speaking with Collider, he reveals that the climate of the 1980s, with the escalating Cold War reaching some considerable heights, played a part in how everyone involved was thinking about a sequel to “Blade Runner.”
“I guess, because I was reading in the newspapers, I thought Deckard had come to bad circumstances–he was nowhere–and he got assigned a Blade Runner job in Moscow, and it was all Russian, and cold, and snow … John le Carré, you know? That’s what I was thinking of. I remember telling Ridley that, ‘Harrison [Ford] in Moscow!’ Just that’s a good thing, right? And he said ::shrugs:: and nothing came of it,” Fancher explained.
Alas, we won’t be getting a Russia-set “Blade Runner” as ‘2049’ returns to Los Angeles, but if Ridley Scott has his way, there will be plenty of opportunities down the line.
“Blade Runner 2049” opens on October 6th.