Blade Runner 2049 Director Reveals Why He Won’t Jump Into Other Filmmakers’ Franchises

After delivering audiences a number of compelling, original movies like Enemy, Sicario, and Arrival, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve delivered Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s beloved Blade Runner, though Villeneuve has since reflected on how he has no interest in continuing a world created by another filmmaker again. Interestingly, the filmmaker explained how his reverence for the original movie was a double-edged sword, as it was his passion for the original movie that convinced him to agree to the project, yet it’s that same reverence that has made him continue to question decisions he made with the 2017 project.

“Blade Runner is one of my favorite films, and it’s absolutely a masterpiece. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite filmmakers, and even though he had given his blessing, it was very important for me to hear it and see it in his eyes that he was OK with me doing the movie at the time,” Villeneuve recently expressed to The Hollywood Reporter. “But I was constantly thinking about the original film as I was making Blade Runner 2049. It was impossible not to. So 2049 was really a love letter to the first film, but it was by far one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever done, and I don’t think I will ever approach someone else’s universe again.” 

He added, “I still wake up sometimes at night, saying, ‘Why did I do that?’ I’d declined a few other projects of that scale, but at the time, I said to myself, ‘It’s a crazy project, but it’s worth the risk of losing everything.’”

Reactions to Villeneuve’s sequel were largely positive, with both critical and audience reactions being 88% positive according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, these reactions from critics put it on par with the 1982 Blade Runner, which sits at 89% positive reviews.

Another thing 2049 has in common with the original movie, unfortunately, is a relatively underwhelming box-office performance. The original movie has a reported budget of $30 million and it would go on to take in $42 million worldwide. Blade Runner 2049 had a reported budget of $150 million and took in nearly $260 million. While this number doesn’t make it a major commercial failure, it was surpassed by franchise films like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, The Mummy, Kong: Skull Island, and War for the Planet of the Apes that year.

The TV series Blade Runner 2099 is currently in development at Prime Video.

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