Denis Villeneuve en négo pour BLADE RUNNER 2
Le cinéaste québécois rejoint le projet alors qu’il est désormais confirmé que Harrison Ford sera de la partie au casting.
Voilà désormais près de quatre ans que l’on parle d’un BLADE RUNNER 2, depuis qu’en 2011 la société Alcon Entertainment a acheté les droits de suite / prequel / reboot du film mythique de Ridley Scott. Récemment, ce dernier laissait planer le mystère : allait-il oui ou non diriger cette suite 33 ans après l’original ? Plus de mystère : non.
Un communiqué de presse officiel d’Alcon annonce en effet que le cinéaste québécois Denis Villeneuve est en négociation pour se charger de ce projet très casse-gueule. Notons que le réalisateur connaît bien Alcon puisque PRISONERS était co-produit par Andrew Kosove, un de deux patrons de la société. Qu’un cinéaste de la trempe de Villeneuve soit sur le point de signer pour ce BLADE RUNNER 2 ne peut qu’intriguer, d’autant que le bonhomme n’a pas franchement eu l’habitude de faire le moindre compromis avec l’industrie jusqu’à présent.
Dans le même temps, le communiqué précise que Harrison Ford sera de retour à la distribution et reprendra son rôle de Deckard. Si l’on ne connaît pas encore le pitch, on sait au moins que BLADE RUNNER 2 se déroulera « plusieurs décennies » après l’original. Le tournage devrait avoir lieu durant l’été 2016. Reste donc à savoir si Villeneuve dirigera STORY OF YOUR LIFE (projet de SF avec Amy Adams en linguiste entrant en contact avec des aliens) avant de se coller à BLADE RUNNER 2. En attendant, on verra très prochainement son SICARIO, avec Emily Blunt et Benicio Del Toro.
Ci-dessous le communiqué de presse officiel :
LOS ANGELES, CA, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 — Harrison Ford will reprise his celebrated role of Rick Deckard in the sequel to Alcon Entertainment’s BLADE RUNNER and Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve to (Prisoners, Incendies) is in negotiations to direct, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.
Film is scheduled to start principle photography in summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green have written the original screenplay based on an idea by Fancher and Ridely Scott.
The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original.
State Johnson and Kosove: “We are honored that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve, who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners. Hampton and Michael, with Ridley Scott, have crafted a uniquely potent and faithful sequel to one of the most universally celebrated films of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this amazing, creative team.”
Ford will next be seen in The Age of Adaline for Lionsgate and the highly anticipated upcoming Star Wars for Walt Disney Pictures. Recent releases include the Warner Bros./Legendary box office hit 42.
Villeneuve most recently directed the crime thriller Sicario, staring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benecio Del Toro for Black Label Media and Lionsgate. He also directed Canada’s Oscar nominated French language film Incendies, and Alcon Entertainment’s critically acclaimed Prisoners, staring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from producer Bud Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Yorkin will serve as a producer on the sequel along with Kosove and Johnson. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will co-produce.
Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers.
Among its many distinctions, BLADE RUNNER has been singled out as one of the greatest movies of all time by innumerable polls and media outlets, and overwhelmingly as the greatest science-fiction film of all time by a majority of genre publications.
Released by Warner Bros., BLADE RUNNER was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples from Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? » and was directed by Ridley Scott following his landmark Alien.” The film was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction).
BLADE RUNNER was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being « culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. » The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1993 and is frequently taught in university courses. In 2007, it was named the 2nd most visually influential film of all time by the Visual Effects Society.
