Never let it be said that Ridley Scott isn't afraid to break his own toys.
After diving back into the "Alien" pool with next summer's mysteriously connected "Prometheus," Scott is setting himself up to revisit another one of his most beloved properties: "Blade Runner." Deadline reports the surprising news that not only is Scott producing the recently announced "Blade Runner" continuation, he'll be directing it as well.
Like "Prometheus," it remains unclear whether or not "Blade Runner" will be a prequel, sequel or a reboot. But when the project was first announced, Alcon Entertainment's Andrew Kosvoe made it clear that Scott's "blessing to do what we're doing is very important to Alcon."
"It's important to Bud [Yorkin], and certainly we have the greatest degree of respect to him as a filmmaker," he said. "He's one of the greatest living directors and one of the greatest directors of all time. So of course he's very important."
So important, in fact, that it looks like Ridley not only gave his blessing, but stepped directly behind the camera himself. It's a gutsy move, no doubt about it: Scott's already gambling big by reapproaching "Alien," one of his most classic films, by way of "Prometheus." Even if that film works out well — as a die-hard fan of that franchise, I have enormously high hopes that it will — can he make that same magic happen twice? Really, not just twice, but four times?
There's also the very fair question to ask: is this even going to happen? Not because Scott doesn't want it to, but because his dance card is so full — he's got "Monopoly," "Brave New World," "The Wolf of Wall Street" and more on his plate. Can a new "Blade Runner," a massive undertaking all on its own, find room on that busy schedule, or will it eventually fall by the wayside, perhaps into another director's hands while Scott continues to direct?
Regardless of how this one plays out, you have to respect Scott's willingness to play with some of his most precious pieces of work one more time. In a world where reboots, prequels and sequels to films that don't always need or deserve reboots, prequels and sequels are the norm, Scott's seemingly prepared to get behind the wheel and take these projects into the air, potential fiery wreck be damned. That takes some serious cajones, if you ask me.
(Fine, one last question… does Scott's involvement improve Harrison Ford's chances of getting involved with a new "Blade Runner" movie? Here's what he told us during the "Cowboys & Aliens" press junket earlier this summer.)
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