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Ridley Scott to direct new 'Blade Runner' movie

Project described as 'follow-up' to ground-breaking 1982 film about a dystopian future

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Image: "Blade Runner"
Warner Bros.
Harrison Ford as Deckard, the replicant-hunting cop in "Blade Runner."
By
Hollywood Reporter
updated 8/18/2011 3:29:35 PM ET 2011-08-18T19:29:35

Ridley Scott is returning to the futuristic world of "Blade Runner," his iconic 1982 film, for a new feature for Warners-based Alcon Entertainment.

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Adapted from Philip K. Dick’s story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," Scott’s original film — with its mix of rainy, neon-lit exteriors, its human-like androids called replicants, and its shadowy, controlling corporation — established a template for dystopian views of the future. In 2007, it was named the second most visually influential film of all time by the Visual Effects Society.

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While the new movie is being described as a "follow-up" to the first film, the filmmakers have not yet disclosed whether it will function as a prequel or a sequel to the original.

Alcon, the financing and production company behind movies like "The Blind Side" and "The Book of Eli," recently partnered with producer Bud Yorkin to produce new "Blade Runner" films as well as TV and interactive productions based on the property.

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Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce the new film with Yorkin, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin and Scott. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEOs of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers.

Scott, repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham, is currently completing another sci-fi feature "Prometheus," which has connections to his 1979 movie "Alien," and which will be released by Fox on June 8, 2012.

Copyright 2012 The Hollywood Reporter
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Photos: Harrison Ford

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  1. 'Cowboys & Aliens'

    Harrison Ford is still playing a hero, even as he approaches 70. He stars with James Bond star Daniel Craig in 2011's "Cowboys & Aliens." (Universal Studios) Back to slideshow navigation
    Related video Watch the 'Cowboys and Aliens' trailer

  2. Can't wait!

    Ford accepts the most anticipated movie award for "Cowboy & Aliens" at the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards on Saturday, June 4, 2011, in Culver City, Calif. Looking on are Jon Favreau and Jeremy Renner. Favreau directs the film. (Matt Sayles / AP) Back to slideshow navigation

  3. What's the story, 'Morning Glory'?

    Ford and Rachel McAdams attend the UK premiere of their 2010 film, "Morning Glory," held at The Empire Leicester Square on Jan. 11, 2011, in London. He plays a veteran journalist and she an aspiring producer in the world of morning television. (Dave Hogan / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
    Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford
    Related story 'Morning Glory' a sunny, vapid hodgepodge
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  4. Wake-up call

    Diane Keaton also stars with Ford in "Morning Glory." (Paramount Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Red-carpet couple

    Ford and wife Calista Flockhart arrive at the premiere of "Extraordinary Measures" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. (Danny Moloshok / Reuters) Back to slideshow navigation

  6. 'Extraordinary Measures'

    In 2010's "Extraordinary Measures," Brendan Fraser, right, plays John Crowley, a biotechnology executive, whose two youngest children were afflicted with Pompe disease. He raises money for research scientist Robert Stonehill (Ford), forming a company to develop a drug to save his children's lives. (CBS Films) Back to slideshow navigation

  7. 'Crossing Over'

    Ford plays an immigration officer in 2009's "Crossing Over," which explores the allure of the American dream, and the reality that immigrants find --- and create -- in 21st century Los Angeles. (The Weinstein Company) Back to slideshow navigation

  8. Advocate

    Ford speaks during the second Governors' Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. (Reed Saxon / AP) Back to slideshow navigation

  9. Indy returns!

    Ford reprised his role as Indiana Jones in 2008's, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Shia LaBeouf played Mutt, Jones' son with "Raiders of the Lost Arc" paramour Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). (Paramount Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  10. Big kid

    Ford gets slimed during the 21st Annual Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles, in 2008. (Matt Sayles / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Pitching in

    Flockhart and longtime boyfriend Ford join Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Nov. 2007, to dish up Thanksgiving dinner to hundreds of men, women and children who live in Los Angeles' Skid Row. (Reed Saxon / AP) Back to slideshow navigation

  12. Meet the press

    Ford answers question as he arrives at the Rome Film Festival in October 2006. Ford was at the festival to honor Jim Berkus, co-founder and president of the United Talent Agency. (Vincenzo Pinto / AFP-Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  13. Drama king

    Ford promotes his film "Firewall" at the Coliseum Cinema in Barcelona on March 2006. The film tells the story of a bank-security executive (Ford) who must rob his own bank in order to ensure the safety of his kidnapped wife and children. (Lluis Gene / AFP-Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  14. Globe trotters

    "Firewall" co-stars Virginia Madsen and Ford share a laugh backstage before presenting at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 16, 2006. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  15. Jedi mind trick

    Flockhart and Ford pose with storm troopers at the 33rd American Film Institute Life Achievement Awards after-party on June 9, 2005 in Hollywood, Calif. Ford starred as Han Solo in "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." (Vince Bucci / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  16. True star

    Ford attends a ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 30, 2003 in Hollywood, Calif. (Vince Bucci / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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    Ready for action

    Ford films a scene on the set of "Hollywood Homicide," on Sept. 17, 2002 in Beverly Hills, Calif. He co-starred with Josh Hartnett in this film about two moonlighting L.A. cops. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  18. Real hero

    On July 10, 2001, Ford used his helicopter in a search-and-rescue mission in Jackson, Wy. Ford located 13-year-old Boy Scout Cody Clawson, who had wandered off the trail. Clawson's mom told People magazine, "Cody said the kids asked if he got an autograph and he said, 'No, but I got a hug and a handshake, and that's better.'" (Getty Images / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  19. Pensive pair

    Ford starred opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in the 2000 film, "What Lies Beneath." The pair played a husband and wife who are haunted by a specter from Ford's past. (Dreamworks) Back to slideshow navigation

  20. Three amigos

    Ford receives the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award from director George Lucas while director Steven Spielberg looks on in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000. Lucas cast Ford in "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars," and Spielberg directed him in the "Indiana Jones" movies. (Michael Caulfield / AP) Back to slideshow navigation

  21. Former couple

    Ford and his former wife Melissa Mathison attend the premiere of "Six Days and Seven Nights" on June 8, 1998. The two divorced in 2004 after more than two decades of marriage. (Brenda Chase / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  22. All wet

    Harrison Ford and Anne Heche starred together in "Six Days Seven Nights" as feuding pair who crash on a deserted South Seas island. The film was a notorious flop. (Touchstone Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation
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  23. Power player

    Ford is greeted by President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a 2005 White House state dinner honoring Blair and wife Cherie. (Joyce Naltchayan / AFP-Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  24. Tasty trio

    Ruben Blades, Ford and Brad Pitt starred in 1997's "The Devil's Own." Ford played a police officer who realizes his houseguest (Pitt) is an IRA agent. (Getty Images / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation

  25. Turbulent flight

    Harrison Ford starred as the president of the United States in 1997's "Air Force One." The presidential plane is hijacked by bad guy Gary Oldman. (Columbia Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  26. Harvard follies

    Ford beams as Nick Gordon and Jason Watkins plant a kiss on him during the Hasty Pudding Theatrics Man of the Year Award Presentation at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., on Feb 20, 1996. (Stuart Cahill / AFP-Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
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  27. 'Working' for a living

    Ford teamed up with Melanie Griffith in this 1988 film about a Staten Island-raised secretary who gets her corporate big break when she impersonates her injured boss -- and stealing her boyfriend (Ford) in the process. (20th Century Fox) Back to slideshow navigation

  28. 'Mosquito Coast'

    In this 1986 film, Allie Fox (Ford) and his wife take their family to Central America to build a paradise that is never found. (Warner Bros.) Back to slideshow navigation

  29. Top cop

    Ford starred as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner." In the sci-fi thriller, Deckard must track down and kill four replicants (human clones). (Warner Bros.) Back to slideshow navigation

  30. The birth of Indy

    Ford struck cinematic gold starting as swashbuckling archeologist Indiana Jones in 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The film sparked three sequels. (Paramount Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  31. 'The Frisco Kid'

    This 1979 comedy, directed by Robert Aldrich, tells the story of a Polish rabbi (played by Gene Wilder) who is traveling to San Francisco, and Ford as a bank robber who befriends him. (Warner Bros.) Back to slideshow navigation
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  32. Let the Wookiee win

    Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Ford) outwit Darth Vader and destroy the Death Star in 1977's "Star Wars." She loves him. He knows. (Twentieth Century Fox) Back to slideshow navigation

  33. Reporting for duty

    Ford had a featured role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 classic, "Apocalypse Now." (Paramount Pictures) Back to slideshow navigation

  34. Early break

    Director George Lucas took notice of Ford early, casting him in his 1973 film "American Graffitti" opposite other rising stars such as Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard. (Universal Studios) Back to slideshow navigation

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Ridley Scott project described as 'follow-up' to ground-breaking 1982 film

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