Sir Ridley Scott never wanted to make Blade Runner sequel

2 October 2017

Sir Ridley Scott had "no interest" to ever make a sequel to 'Blade Runner'.

Sir Ridley Scott and wife Giannini Facio

The 79-year-old filmmaker helmed the 1982 cult classic and in 2015 the highly anticipated sequel was announced to be in the works with Scott acting as a producer and Denis Villeneuve directing.

But when the original - which is based on Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' - was released, the iconic filmmaker never wanted to make a follow up story as he felt it was a complete tale.

Speaking to Den of Geek, Scott - who also created the 'Alien' franchise - said: "You change over time. At that point I had no interest in ever doing a sequel, that's why I never did a sequel to 'Alien' for another 20 years, and then I thought, 'Do you know what, I'd better go back to this.' Because I'd done two science fiction [films], 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner', and I felt that that was it. That's enough science fiction for a career. And of course, I never realised that the awakening of the science fiction universe, over many, many films, would get so large.

"You can't thank 'Star Wars' for that, you can thank, God bless them, 'Star Trek'. You've got all that. It's evolved and made another form of entertainment."

'Blade Runner 2049' sees the return of Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard and has an impressive cast including Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto and Dave Bautista.

When Alcon - who bought the title and franchise - asked the filmmaker if there was a story for a potential sequel, Scott knew there was a "very clear and present and straightforward" narrative.

He said: "We try not to repeat ourselves, and that's why I always felt that I didn't want to do a sequel.

"But returning to this now, I was asked by Alcon, they said there wasn't a story. I said 'well, actually there's a very clear and present and straightforward story, which opens up into a more complex universe, with all its outcomes and characters.

"Because the very first film is a very clear indication of what the second will be."