Blade Runner 2049 Director Talks Practical Effects Over Green Screen

12/21/2016 05:41 pm EST

Now that the Blade Runner 2049 trailer has dropped, the world has taken notice of this longtime coming Blade Runner sequel. Starring Ryan Gosling and the bringing back original Blade Runner star Harrison Ford, the new film has some big sci-fi genre shoes to fill.

Taking on the challenge is director Denis Villeneuve, who gained steady acclaim for mixing high art cinema and thrilling genre conventions into unique film experiences like Prisoners, Sicario, and most recently, Arrival. And if the first trailer is any indication, Villeneuve has met the challenge, by not just trying to equal Ridley Scott's level of craftsmanship, but instead crafting something uniquely his own.

In a recent interview, Villeneuve let it be known that in crafting his version of Blade Runner, practical effects were a must.

Speaking to Screen Daily Villeneuve talked about how much CGI was used in the film, and according to him, "I can count on my fingers the amount of times we put a green screen on set. Most of the movie was done on camera, me and [cinematographer] Roger Deakins worked very hard to do it that way."

Translated for the average viewer, this means that while Blade Runner 2049 will have plenty of effects work, the main sets and scene composition will be created practically. That will be good news to those who want something of a throwback aesthetic to this Blade Runner sequel - or simply fear the project could go all the way of something like the Star Wars prequels, which overindulged in green screen effects work.

Villeneuve has never relied heavily on CGI effects, as his directorial eye has proven keen enough to arrange the type of practical shots that stimulate the eye. And so far, Blade Runner 2049 looks like it will be as visually intriguing as it will be narratively interesting.

SYNOPSIS: 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 stars Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas, Carla Juri, David Dastmalchian, Barkhad Abdi, Lennie James, and Jared Leto.

MORE: Blade Runner 2049 Will Be Rated R / More Sequels Planned / Blade Runner 2049 Trailer / Internet Reacts To The Blade Runner 2049 Trailer / Blade Runner 2049 Synopsis Revealed / Blade Runner 2049 Filmed For Months Without Harrison Ford / Blade Runner Sequel Won't Reveal If Deckard Is A Replicant / Blade Runner 2 Director Talks Living Up To The Original / Blade Runner 2 Concept Art Released / Ryan Gosling Expresses Excitement About Blade Runner 2

Blade Runner 2049 opens Oct. 7, 2017.