Blade Runner 2099 greenlit by Amazon

Not content with making the most expensive streaming series ever made in the form of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (exclusively on Amazon Prime), Amazon Studios is producing a Blade Runner series set 50 years after Blade Runner 2049.

“We recognise that we have a very high bar to meet with this next instalment [sic],” Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, co-CEOs and co-founders of Alcon, said in a statement. “Together with Silka and our partners at Amazon, and Scott Free Productions, we hope that we can live up to that standard and delight audiences with the next generation of Blade Runner.”

Amazon Studios’ head of global television, Vernon Sanders, says Sir Ridley Scott’s (Alien) original 1982 film is one of the greatest and most influential sci-fi movies of all time.

“We are honoured to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes and spirit of its film predecessors,” Sanders said.

Personally, I loved Blade Runner 2049 as evidenced in my review of director Denis Villeneuve's (Dune) superlative sequel to Scott's Blade Runner. There were tears of joy in the rain.

Are you looking forward to Blade Runner 2099? Let me know in the comments below.

Spice Wars

My earliest memory of David Lynch’s Dune was seeing merchandise in a toy store bargain bin, which didn’t divert me from the Star Wars aisle. Ironically, Lynch turned down directorial duties on Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

A year later, mum hired Dune on rental VHS. Aside from Toto's soundtrack (an influence on Danny Elfman’s score for Batman), it was a grandiose bore and I soon returned to playing with my Star Wars action figures.

Does the latest silver screen adaptation of Dune deliver a grand space opera filled with galaxy-spanning thrills? Nick Smith, our resident US-based critic, hunts for giant sandworms.

Guest post by Nick Smith

I had high hopes for Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction film adapted from the novel by Frank Herbert. The book is rich with mythology and mysticism, creating a believably sandy world ripe for an epic movie.

The 2021 adaptation held much promise. It featured likeable actors such as Oscar Isaac (Star Wars), Javier Bardem (Skyfall) and Zendaya (Spider-Man), sandwalking to a score by Hans Zimmer. I was even more eager to see the film after it earned six Academy Awards in March, despite those wins being overshadowed by Will Smith’s fresh behaviour.

Sadly, this Dune is as dull as dirt. Its grey colour palette, bland supporting performances, slow pace and unresolved ending all make it a great sleep aid. Move over Nyquil and No-Doze, this celluloid mélange is a perfect cure for insomnia.

Villeneuve has described his film as, ‘Star Wars for adults.’ I’ll take the kid’s meal option over this wasted opportunity, which tries too hard to simplify Herbert’s detailed, eco-conscious cosmos and its power plays, which are not fully explained.

Star Wars’ desert planet of Tatooine owes a thing or two to Herbert’s prose. Instead of two moons, Luke Skywalker’s home turf has two suns. Both planets have nomadic natives, a drug called ‘spice’ and beasties bursting from under the sand. But not all worlds are created equal. Tatooine has fascinating spaceports, inhabitants and pastimes. Villeneuve portrays Arrakis as nothing more than a big ol’ dune.

It’s tough to care about a wealthy, privileged white kid in this age of diversity. Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalomet) becomes more relatable as his life gets harder. His relationship with his mom Jessica is delightful, though, with Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible) helping to develop an intense, touching mother-son bond that’s heartwarming and credible. The rest of the cast is packed with star names but only Stellan Skarsgard and Jason Momoa stand out, making the most of their two-dimensional characters.

Like Blade Runner 2049, Dune is beautiful to look at and over time its cache will doubtless increase as a moving piece of art. But movies aren’t just for looking at. The best films entertain us and stir our emotions as well. Flawed though they are, I’d much rather watch the ‘80s versions of these movies, with their tempo, style, creativity and entertainment value, than sit through Villeneuve’s dreary, overlong and ultimately pointless retreads. Unless I need help getting to sleep.

Have you seen Dune? Let me know in the comments below.

Dune is this year's Star Wars

With the nine-part Skywalker Saga complete there's a box office vacancy this holiday season. Hopes for director Denis Villeneuve's two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune are high - perhaps more so given the global pandemic.

The first official trailer suggests Villeneuve's follow-up to Blade Runner 2049, one of my favourite sequels, will deliver an epic space saga starring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides.



Here’s the official plot synopsis:

"A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence — a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential — only those who conquer their fear will survive."

As I've written previously, David Lynch's adaptation of Dune (1984) failed to capture my imagination despite an excellent soundtrack composed by Toto. Dune reunites Villeneuve with Hans Zimmer who scored Blade Runner 2049 to industrial-sized effect.

Dune is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 18th December.

First look at Timothée Chalamet in Dune

Vanity Fair has released the first enigmatic photo from director Denis Villeneuve's (Blade Runner 2049) highly-anticipated Dune remake depicting Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. The role was previously played by Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) in David Lynch's movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's novels.

Chalamet instantly reminded me of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) from the Star Wars sequels. The Dune novels influenced George Lucas' space opera.

“The immediately appealing thing about Paul was the fact that in a story of such detail and scale and world-building, the protagonist is on an anti-hero’s-journey of sorts,” Chalamet told Vanity Fair.

“He thinks he’s going to be sort of a young general studying his father and his leadership of a fighting force before he comes of age, hopefully a decade later, or something like that.”

In the movie, Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) and Rebecca Ferguson play Paul's parents Duke Leto and Lady Jessica Atreides respectively, whilst Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame) is Gurney Halleck, a veteran soldier mentoring Paul in the ways of war.

“Dune was made by people from all over the world. Many of these people are like family to me, and they’re very much in my thoughts,” Villeneuve said. “I’m so proud to showcase their hard work. I look forward to a time when we can all get together again as Dune was made to be seen on the big screen.”

Dune, part one of two instalments, is in cinemas 18th December. Hopefully, it will fill the void vacated by Star Wars more successfully than Lynch's film in 1984. Infamously, Dune merchandise piled up in toy store bargain bins as kids (myself included) had no interest following the conclusion of the Star Wars saga the year before with Return of the Jedi.

Warner Bros. reboots Logan's Run

Seventies sci-fi classic Logan's Run is getting a modern remake from director Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and The Hunger Games screenwriter Peter Craig. This version of Logan’s Run will feature a woman in the lead role. Warner Bros. is hoping for another successful revival in the wake of Blade Runner 2049.

Like The Planet of the Apes (coincidentally also scored by Jerry Goldsmith), I saw the Logan's Run television series spin-off, written by Star Trek alum including Harlan Ellison, before seeing the theatrical original on rental home video in the early eighties. I wasn't prepared for its chilling dystopian depiction of a future foretelling mandatory euthanasia at the age of 30 (21 in the original novel) due to dwindling resources.

The original film centred on Logan (Michael York), a Sandman tasked with terminating runners evading 'renewal' by Carousel, who ultimately sympathises with the rebels and escapes with Jessica (Jenny Agutter). The movie's cliffhanger ending suggested further sequels, and I was disappointed to learn that none were made.

So, what do you think about a Logan's Run reboot with a female lead and who would you like to see in the titular role? Let me know in the comments below.

Detroit: Become Human arrives on PS4 this May

PlayStation exclusive film noir Heavy Rain (2010) remains one of my favourite games from last gen and I'm looking forward to David Cage and Quantic Dream's next opus. A neo-noir thriller 5 years in the making - it began life as a PS3 tech demo entitled "Kara".



Detroit: Become Human.

The latest PlayStation exclusive taps into the familiar trope of sentient artificial intelligence and its moral implications, most recently explored in AMC's Humans, HBO's Westworld and Blade Runner 2049.

“Detroit is by far the most ambitious title ever created by Quantic Dream,” said writer and director David Cage. “With this game, we wanted to push our limits by creating the most bending game we have ever made. Your actions have real and spectacular consequences.”

“Each story is almost as unique as your DNA,” added Cage. “It is the result of the choices you made — the minor ones and the important ones — because in Detroit, all choices matter.”



It remains to be seen whether it's more QuickTime (QT) events sans motion controllers, but I'm fine with that within the context of compelling character-driven choices and a branching storyline. It'll pass the time whilst waiting for CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077.

Detroit: Become Human is released on 25th May. Pre-order from Amazon. This is an affiliate link and as such, I may receive compensation for any referrals (at no extra cost to yourself).

Blade Runner 2049 art director joins Star Wars

Director JJ Abrams is assembling his team for Star Wars: Episode IX, which is believed to begin principal photography this June.

Blade Runner 2049 was a visual feast and art director Paul Inglis will be bringing his world-building prowess to Star Wars: Episode IX according to Omega Underground. Inglis has also worked on Game of Thrones, Skyfall and Prometheus.

The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi excel in the visual stakes and Episode IX could raise the bar even higher.

Very little is known about Abrams' final instalment in the sequel trilogy. The Force Awakens director took the helm in the wake of Colin Trevorrow's departure from the project.

Episode IX will be in cinemas December 2019.

Blade Runner 2049 is an existential masterpiece

Director Denis Villeneuve's follow-up to Ridley Scott's seminal tech noir opus Blade Runner is a transcendental sequel that brings the cerebral to Hollywood.

If you're looking for high-octane action; you would do well to look elsewhere. Villeneuve artfully unpacks the enigmatic core of the original Blade Runner at a languid pace, befitting a transformative museum tour, that respects the source material and audience's intelligence in Blade Runner 2049.

Villeneuve presents a central protagonist, Officer K (Ryan Gosling), who embarks on a rerun of Rick Deckard's (Harrison Ford) mission to retire a replicant 30 years later. This blade runner is in a romantic relationship with a holographic personal assistant called Joi (Ana de Armas) that recalls Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) in Spike Jonze's Her.



Ultimately, K's journey is a Pinocchio parable as explored in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and that's not the only reference to the late Stanley Kubrick as fans will discover.

Harrison Ford reprises a fan-favourite role a la Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, all I'll say is that his performance as an ageing Deckard is mesmeric and a career-high. Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks and Jared Leto are all phenomenal. Hoeks bears an uncanny resemblance to Sean Young who played Rachael in the original Blade Runner.



Sweeping vistas are wrapped in an industrial soundscape with callbacks to the original score, composed by Vangelis, and Sergei Prokofiev's childhood classic Peter and the Wolf.

It's a treatise on existentialism in a neon-drenched dystopia and a heartbreaking love story between an android and an app achingly distilled by Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas.

Blade Runner 2049 left me melancholy and, conversely, optimistic by its enchanting end. Amidst the deafening roar of nihilistic blockbusters, there are compelling stories of the human condition being told like in fairytales of old. That's worth tears in the rain.

Blade Runner 2049 prequel starring Dave Bautista

Warner Bros. has released the second of three prequels to Blade Runner 2049.

The short film follows Sapper Montan (Dave Bautista) a replicant on the run. 2048: Nowhere to Run is the second of three short films that will fill in the timeline between the original Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.



This is the official synopsis for Blade Runner 2049:

"Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years."

Blade Runner 2049 is in theatres 6th October.

Blade Runner 2049 prequel starring Jared Leto

Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to director Ridley Scott's iconic Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, is released in theatres this October with Ford reprising the role of Rick Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling as LAPD Officer K.

Collider has posted an exclusive prequel short film starring Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream) playing Niander Wallace. 2036: Nexus Dawn is one of three short films that will fill in the timeline between the original Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.



This is the official synopsis for Blade Runner 2049:

"Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years."

Blade Runner 2049 is in theatres 6th October.

Blade Runner 2049 gives a knowing wink to Star Wars

Ridley Scott's second foray into sci-fi was Blade Runner. An enigmatic film noir touchstone possessing a visual flair much copied and unmatched since its original release in 1982.

Scott's dystopian vision was the antithesis of the summer blockbuster with Harrison Ford, famous for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, playing Rick Deckard. A police officer charged with hunting down replicants. All the while possibly a replicant himself. Because unicorn.

The prospect of a sequel left me cold until the latest trailer for Blade Runner 2049 dropped with Ford reprising the role opposite Ryan Gosling.

The tone is pitch perfect and lush visuals promise to be as memorable as those seen in the original. The minimalist approach evokes Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey). At least it's a feast for the eyes and listen out for the Star Wars in-joke from The Empire Strikes Back.



If you've never seen the original Blade Runner. May I suggest The Final Cut from 2007.

Looking forward to Blade Runner 2049 this October? Let me know in the comments below.