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Green Lantern Writer To Pen Blade Runner Sequel

First time accepted submitter MovieEnthusiast writes "Alcon Entertainment, the production company that own the rights to Blade Runner, have announced that the Blade Runner sequel will be re-written by Michael Green (The Green Lantern) and hinted at other possible Blade Runner spin-offs. From the press release: 'Writer Michael Green is in negotiations to do a rewrite of Alcon Entertainment's "Blade Runner" sequel penned by Hampton Fancher ("Blade Runner," "The Minus Man," "The Mighty Quinn") and to be directed by Ridley Scott. Fancher's original story/screenplay is set some years after the first film concluded. Alcon co-founders and co-Chief Executive Officers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce with Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, along with Ridley Scott. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO's of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers. Green recently completed rewrites on "Robopocalypse" and Warners Bros "Gods and Kings."'"

25 of 326 comments (clear)

  1. Dark by invid · · Score: 4, Funny

    It will only be good if they make it darker and edgier.

    --
    The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
    1. Re:Dark by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Funny

      I suspect that if anything, it's going to be greener and more shiny.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Dark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It will only be good if they make it darker and edgier.

      You want edgier? Then let's see them use Sean Young & Darrel Hannah again ... in the original costumes.

    3. Re:Dark by TheSkepticalOptimist · · Score: 5, Funny

      If they make this movie any darker we won't be able to see what is going on.

      --
      I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
  2. Don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just leave them alone, please.

    1. Re:Don't by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wow, sounds like a good celebrity-cameo reboot for Logan's Run. Let's do this!

  3. Noooooooooo! by tphb · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If there's a movie that doesn't need a sequel, it's Blade Runner.

    Please Hollywood - find a new idea.

    1. Re:Noooooooooo! by cjjjer · · Score: 4, Informative

      That is the problem they have no new original ideas.

    2. Re:Noooooooooo! by realsilly · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What you said.

      Blade Runner is by far one of the best movies ever, in part due to the never answered question. It does not need a sequel. That movie should stand on it's own and should not be messed or tampered with in any way.

      Please Hollywood, Please, for the love of all good creations, don't do a sequel or a redo, ever. Let it remain the masterpiece that it is.

      --
      Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
  4. BLEH by Torp · · Score: 5, Informative

    The only person that could write a sequel died in 1982. This will automatically be a steaming pile of shit.

    --
    I apologize for the lack of a signature.
    1. Re:BLEH by binarylarry · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dude, quit being so Dickish.

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    2. Re:BLEH by invid · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As much as I love PK Dick's writing, Blade Runner has very little to do with his book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The only movie that I know of that stayed close to one of his books is A Scanner Darkly. The greatness of Blade Runner was a happy convergence of talent from multiple people. In all likelihood, the sequel will be an abomination.

      --
      The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
    3. Re:BLEH by moeinvt · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think the preponderance of evidence would point to the OP's conclusion. IMO, the majority of sequels suck anyway and trying to do a sequel/derivative of an awesome film like "Blade Runner" seems like a sure letdown.

      I won't be prejudiced by the fact that it's not the original author. I'll just be very surprised (and very pleased) if they manage to produce something good.

    4. Re:BLEH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wow, no, they are substantially different. As said below they have similar character names and a generally similar story at the highest levels, but the setting, overall plot, and details stray from there. Some themes are similar, some are not.

      Book: The world is mostly depopulated as people have been leaving Earth for some time. There's a common thread amongst the people remaining of guilt over the harm humanity has caused to the planet, thus the religion around the VR experience of the guy getting stoned (the physical kind, being hit with thrown rocks, not the drug kind), there's an effort by people to protect what few animals there are left to where Deckard carefully saves a small spider in his apartment building. Androids are outlawed, however they've been breaking the rules so long that by the end of the story half the planet may be androids. It has themes of identity and technology's power to confuse the "nature" of humanity, as well as environmentalism and guilt. Deckard's quest is notable in that he becomes more alive as the story progresses. Most importantly, Deckard is *clearly* human. There is no pre-set lifespan on androids.

      Movie: the world is heavily overpopulated and a total ruin, with a mixing and clashing of cultures and over-commercialism. The guilt element is gone, although the environmentalist aspect still remains. Androids are outlawed but there are very few on Earth at all. It still has the theme of questioning the nature of "humanity", but delves deeper into memories and their reality, as well as technology's ability to confuse real humanity and fake humanity, but the theme here is mostly highlighted with the ambiguous nature of Deckard, whether he is a replicant or a human. It's also highlighted in the fact that the replicants are the most "real" characters in the story, expressive, emotional, and ambitious in their journey, whereas the humans are more automatons; very monotone in their emotions. However there is a larger theme regarding mortality and the search for our maker that is entirely not present in the book at all. Roy Batty's quest in the movie is to find answers to his questions about life, and most importantly to find a way to overcome his mortality. He searches for his maker in order to find a way to extend his life, however his maker rebuffs him. He instead destroys his maker and contemplates and finally accepts his pending death. This is a signature Ridley Scott theme not present in the books, the journey for mankind to understand by searching for their creator, and to strive beyond the limitations set for him.

      The movie basically takes the Phillip K Dick story and his central themes (dreams, the nature of humanity and reality), and mixes it with Ridley Scott themes (the search for a higher power, greater wisdom and understanding, overcoming mortality) along with social themes current at the time the movie was made (commercialism, environmentalism, overpopulation).

  5. wtf? by bloodhawk · · Score: 4, Funny

    You mean someone didn't ban him for life from being involved with writing anything EVER again after the green lantern?

  6. A sequel after all this time? by Zaatxe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why not a reboot?

    --
    So say we all
    1. Re:A sequel after all this time? by VortexCortex · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why not a reboot?

      No. That's not actually the damn answer to everything. Typical Windows User

    2. Re:A sequel after all this time? by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or a prequel. We might even be able to see things we people wouldn't believe, Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.

      We really need to commit those memories to celluloid before they're lost in time, like tears in rain

      I'm also interested in seeing the baby spiders.

  7. This does not inspire confidence in me by wwphx · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Green Lantern was not exactly a great movie, Blade Runner was. Ignoring how faithful the original was to the source material, the sequel has to be very faithful to the original movie to ensure good story continuity. Someone that would impress me would be Peter Jackson or Del Toro. For that matter, Kevin Smith would impress me if he were attached to the project. Or William Goldman, a master at re-writes.

    Though it's entirely possible that I'm turning in to a curmudgeon and should stick to my video collection and watch 20+ year old movies only, I thought Star Trek Into Darkness was kinda sucky and hold little hope in my heart for JJ's Star Wars movies.

    --
    When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
    1. Re:This does not inspire confidence in me by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Do you really see a slow paced sci-fi noir action/psychological/ethical thriller playing well today? No, hell, it didn't even play well when Blade Runner was made, they barely recouped their cost. No studio in their right minds would green light a true sequel to Blade Runner because it is at best a gamble and more realistically a financial wash. So what are we gonna end up with? I'm guessing a Micheal Bay-ified version, complete with explosions, spaceships, maybe even an all out human on replicant war, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance.

    2. Re:This does not inspire confidence in me by macson_g · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The new Dredd movie was notable for not being notable! It was notable for simple, brutal, gritty story. It was notable for the lack of showing-off, CGI-generated landscapes/action sequences etc. It was notable for not being preachy. And for the main character never taking the helmet off too.
      I loved it.

      But, being South African/British, it was not really a Hollywood movie, was it?

  8. Rosebud by flarb936 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When will they get M Night Shyamalan to make Citizen Kane 2?

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    ralphbarbagallo.com
  9. Michael Green to write a sequel TKAM2 by Picass0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    To Kill a Mockingbird 2

    "If Atticus Finch can't get justice in the court room...

    (Queue sound effects: "Screeech.....KABOOM...."ATTICUS!!!!") ...he'll get it on the street!"

  10. Re:Does BR even rate having a sequel? Explain plea by slim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You were unlucky enough to see it at the wrong time of your life, with the wrong expectations. It might not be fixable.

    It'll be diminished now because that vision of the dark futuristic city, mixing Japan-inspired neon with rain and grime, has been done to death. Also it played to our fears and anticipations in the 80s.

    I think it's a great film though, which reads differently depending on your perspective. At one stage, I watched it and saw it as a meditation on fate, the passing of time and the nature of memories. That's explicit in Rutger Hauer's monologues, but also in other aspects of the film.

    Then I watched it again more recently, and read it in a completely different way.

    That's evidence of depth.

  11. Re:Does BR even rate having a sequel? Explain plea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that vision of the dark futuristic city, mixing Japan-inspired neon with rain and grime, has been done to death.

    The term you're looking for is Tech-noir.

    At one stage, I watched it and saw it as a meditation on fate, the passing of time and the nature of memories

    Like most of Dick's stories, it's a meditation on reality. What is real, what is not, how do you tell when all your evidence is subjective, and most importantly... does it actually matter?
    As for which version of the movie is better, it's mostly a matter of taste. One has the voice-over narrative, which gives the movie a feeling reminiscent of the old "gum-shoe" detective movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood and helps move things along. The other does not, which gives it more of a drawn-out, brooding feeling... this is also the version with the "unicorn dream" which lends support to the idea that Deckard is also a Replicant.

    As for the sequel, it's a shit movie. I can say that without it even being made or written. Why? Because the story has no sequel, that's part of the damn point of the thing. The original was about the characters, not the World. Dick really was a master at writing individual stories, he didn't write series and his stories are self-contained. Any time the plot contains an "open end" it's meant to be that way, and adding sequels or tying up "loose ends" actually detracts from the story.
    I'm afraid that any attempt at a sequel or re-make will be just as much of a cluster-fuck as what they did to Total Recall.