In an interview last December, Ridley Scott was rather riddle-y about whether or not he’d return to the Blade Runner franchise to direct a rumored sequel to the canonized sci-fi/noir classic. He completely ruled out the possibility at first, but then backpedaled a bit, saying “Blade Runner may be one of the most personal pieces I did… I got so beaten up for it, I said I’d never try that again. But here we are. It’s sitting there ready to be made.” It was an evasive, non-committal answer, intended to dismiss a pointed question—though the man responsible for Blade Runner probably has a good handle on how to sidestep an interrogation by now. (Now’s not the time to pussyfoot around the truth; Ridley Scott is a replicant.) But Scott is now officially out of the picture, with a new director taking the reins of one of sci-fi’s most esteemed properties. 

Denis Villeneuve has his work cut out for him. Replicant Scott used the time saved by eschewing carbon-based behaviors like eating and using the toilet to build a staggering, fully-formed future-imperfect Los Angeles. Carbon-based life form Villeneuve will have to take periodical breaks from shooting in order to sleep, but such is the tragedy of being human. More intimidating challenges await as well—Blade Runner has had 30-odd years to amass a vast and passionate fanbase that will undoubtedly respond with white-hot fury at any perceived desecration of their holy text. That’s not too much of an exaggeration, either. An old film textbook of mine described “Blade Runner parties” popular during the ’80s, during which film students would imbibe heartily and watch Scott’s masterpiece, memorizing each line and teasing out every possible interpretation. Why film students ever stopped doing that is unclear, but one thing is readily apparent: Villeneuve offered a pair of acclaimed English-language films in 2013 with Prisoners and Enemy, but after this he will be forever known either as “the guy who ruined Blade Runner” or “the guy who pulled off another Blade Runner.”

Also worth noting: Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard for the new film. He has seen things you people wouldn't believe. Airplanes on fire off the shoulder of Air Force One. He watched entire galaxies glitter in the dark near the second act of Star Wars. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time… to revive an enshrined sci-fi property.