Exciting news for BLADE RUNNER fans! A sequel to the Ridley Scott cult sci-fi noir film is in the works and star Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard. Although Scott won’t direct the film (though he will be staying on as producer), he leaves it in the very capable hands of PRISONERS and ENEMY filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. The sequel’s story will take place decades after the events in the original 1982 film. No other plot details have been released, but Ford has said that the sequel’s script has some of the best material he has ever read, which makes this quite promising.

Although some fans of BLADE RUNNER may be disappointed that Ridley Scott won’t be back to direct, this may actually be in the best interest of the film, especially after the rather disappointing turnout of Scott’s prequel to ALIEN, PROMETHEUS. And with DISTRICT 9 director Neill Blomkamp taking over that franchise, perhaps Scott is realizing that other directors may have far more interesting visions and directions for his stories. Fans should rest assured, however, because Scott did have a hand in writing the script along with original BLADE RUNNER co-writer Hampton Fancher.

Villeneuve would seem like an odd choice to some, as he is primarily well-known for the Oscar-nominated PRISONERS, however with his 2013 film ENEMY, the French-Canadian director has shown that he not only has an interest in the science fiction genre, but also in the provocative, slightly off-kilter style, which certainly reminds us of BLADE RUNNER. Villeneuve also knows how to inject drama and tension into a story, which he did masterfully in PRISONERS.

No word yet on when this sequel is going to be released.