Both producer Andrew Kosove and Ridley Scott have long insisted that their proposed new Blade Runner film would be a total “reinvention” with an all-new cast, rather than a direct sequel that would risk infringing on the original (and particularly the lingering, argument-provoking ambiguity of its ending). But according to the mostly reliable Twitch, somewhere between then and this weekend, they decided they needed the old blade runner, they needed his magic—specifically the late-model Harrison Ford’s magical ability to generate box office by simply putting on his old costumes, then chewing through all the dialogue that stands between him and quittin’ time. Twitch reports that Ford is now in “early talks” to join the film, although it stops short of saying that he would be reprising his role as Deckard. That, of course, could end up negating all of Scott’s not-so-subtle implications that Deckard was himself a replicant and thereby sully the original. If Twitch’s report is true, hopefully the producers have something more dignified in mind—like, say, Harrison Ford being a ghost who drives new Blade Runner recruit Zac Efron up the wall by redundantly narrating his every move.
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