New ‘Blade Runner’ To Be Completely Different From Original; Won’t Hit Theaters Until 2014

Earlier today it was announced that the great Ridley Scott had decided to once again return to a classic world he built long ago, Blade Runner.

Now some details on how Scott came to return have surfaced, as well as information on how Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove of Alcon Entertainment””who acquired the rights to the property this past March””plan to approach the new movie with Scott and keep things fresh.

Right from the get–go, Kosove and Johnson had their fingers crossed for Scott to be involved somehow, but of course they also had backup plans if the long–shot fell through. After they acquired the rights, they contacted Scott Free Productions in hopes of sitting down with Ridley and sharing their vision for the new movie, to which he agreed.

They talked about a look for the film as well as how it should not only be very different from the many Blade Runner–inspired films of the past few decades, but also very different from Blade Runner itself, ultimately deciding to make the new movie as separate as possible from the original. And by the end of the meeting, Ridley was sold and the two parties made a “handshake” deal, which was made more official earlier today after all the paperwork and dirty details were worked out.

Of landing Scott to direct their movie, Kosove said “Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh. I believe he sees an opportunity to create something that’s wholly original from the first Blade Runner.”

Unfortunately (depending on where you stand on this movie being made in the first place) we’ll have to wait quite a long time before we see where they take this new Blade Runner. Next up is an eighteen month period that will be spent hiring a writer, getting the script worked out and approved by Scott, and casting the movie before filming even begins. That puts production at around early 2013, with a release expected sometime in 2014. And with that amount of time in front of us, as anyone who follows movies knows, anything and everything could change.

But it appears that their primary focus is making sure fans of the original know that this new movie will be original and made with full respect to the 1982 classic, and that it’s not just a cash–grabber.

Kosove touched on making sure the movie is original and the skepticism of fans, saying:

Now the big question is whether it will be a sequel, prequel, or something completely different. When Scott first signed on to direct what would become Prometheus it was going to be an Alien prequel, and has since transformed into something much more original than that set in the same world.

What are your thoughts on this new Blade Runner?

[Source: Los Angeles Times]