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'Blade Runner' to return with Harrison Ford

Maria Puente
USA TODAY
Harrison Ford in 'Blade Runner' in 1982.

Harrison Ford, 72, has still got it, and he's going to show it off again in a sequel to Blade Runner, one of Hollywood's most influential sci-fi movies ever.

Alcon Entertainment announced Friday that Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard in a sequel to the memorably dystopian, neo-noir 1982 film, more than three decades after it premiered.

Adapted from the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner was something of a dud at the box office but in hindsight stood out for the look of the film, its special effects and its futuristic elements.

It was also important for the careers of Ford and for director Ridley Scott. Alcon said Scott will serve as an executive producer on the sequel.

Ford said recently that the script for the sequel is the "best thing" he's ever read.

In the original film, set in 2019 in Los Angeles, a "blade runner' is someone who pursues and tries to terminate "replicants," artificial lifeforms that appear remarkably human. Ford's character is chasing four such androids who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Production on the sequel is to begin in the summer of 2016.

Hampton Francher, who co-wrote the original, and Michael Green have written a script based on an idea from Francher and Scott.

The story will take place several decades after the events at the conclusion of the 1982 film.

Variety reported Denis Villenueve is in negotiations with Alcon to direct.

Will a new audience take to the Blade Runner aesthetic? Judging from the tweets, the entertainment media, at least, are thrilled.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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