'Blade Runner' Sequel Offer Out to Harrison Ford for Return

In somewhat of an odd bit of news, Alcon Entertainment has issued the below listed press release that Harrison Ford has been offered the chance to return for a Blade Runner sequel, but hasn't actually signed-on.

I'm not sure if this is a public ploy to put pressure of Ford to agree to reprise his role of Rick Deckard from the 1982 sci-fi classic, but it's certainly notable when a studio wants people to know what's going on behind the negotiation process.

Being that Ford is set to have a notable role in the new Star Wars trilogy, I wouldn't be shocked if he agrees to do this.  I'm sure his role will be important if agreed upon, but not the lead.  That duty will likely go to a younger, more currently-popular, actor/actress.

With director Ridley Scott set to return along with original writer, Hampton Fancher, read the full press release below:

Warner Bros-based Alcon Entertainment (Prisoners, The Blind Side, The Book of Eli) has an offer out to Harrison Ford to reprise his celebrated role of Rick Deckard in its Ridley Scott-directed sequel to Blade Runner, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the 1982 adaptation) and Michael Green are the screenwriters.

While the story is being kept under wraps, it takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original.

State Johnson and Kosove: "We believe that Hampton Fancher and Michael Green have crafted with Ridley Scott an extraordinary sequel to one of the greatest films of all time. We would be honored, and we are hopeful, that Harrison will be part of our project."

Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights 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, CEOs 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.

Source:  Alcon Entertainment