A Blade Runner live-action TV series is officially in the works, as confirmed by director Ridley Scott. The celebrated filmmaker hasn’t given too much away at this stage but he has said, during an interview with BBC Radio’s Today, that the series is ten hours long, suggesting it’s comprised of 10 one-hour-long episodes.
The original Blade Runner film premiered in 1982 with Harrison Ford front and centre in Scott’s adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. While the dystopian film wasn’t exactly well-received at the time, it has gone on to become a cult classic and is now held up as one of the best science fiction films of all time.
A sequel, Blade Runner 2049 was released in 2017 with Ford returning for the film and Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, and Jared Leto rounding out the cast. While the follow-up also fell short at the box office, the film was nominated for and won several Oscars at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.
Elsewhere, a ‘sidequel,’ called Soldier was released in 1998, and Adult Swim’s anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus just debuted on November 14.
The cast for the new live-action series has not yet been announced and Scott would not reveal where on the timeline the project will take place.
Scott’s most recent work is House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and Jared Leto. The film tells the true story of Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci (Driver), who plotted to kill her husband, who was the grandson of renowned fashion designer Guccio Gucci.
Reggiani ultimately served 16 years in prison for the crime of orchestrating the assassination of her ex.
The story takes place over three decades and explores the themes of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and murder while examining what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control.
The film will be released in Australian cinemas on January 1, 2022.
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