‘Blade Runner 2’ is set to feature Lennie James of ‘The Walking Dead’ fame alongside lead actors Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
According to /Film, James recently signed on to play a yet unspecified role in Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming sequel to the 1982 science-fiction classic ‘Blade Runner’. He joins an ensemble cast that includes Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, and Dave Bautista.
James is best known for his acclaimed performance as Morgan Jones on AMC’s zombie series ‘The Walking Dead’. He also appeared on numerous feature films including 1998’s ‘Les Miserables’, 2000’s ‘Snatch’, 2005’s ‘Sahara’, 2011’s ‘Columbiana’. He also worked on television series such as ‘Out of the Blue,’ ‘Jericho,’ ‘The Prisoner,’ and ‘Hung’.
Ford is reprising his role as “Blade Runner” Rick Deckard. He was the original film’s lead protagonist and was introduced as a special agent in the Los Angeles department who was tasked at hunting down bioengineered androids called replicants since they’ve been banned from Earth. Gosling is set to play a yet identified lead protagonist.
The original film was directed by Ridley Scott and written for the big screen by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. It was released on June 25, 1982 to mixed reviews. According to The Numbers, the film earned $33.14 million worldwide on a production budget of $28 million. Although it underperformed in North America, it soon established itself as a cult classic.
According to List.co.uk, the sequel will be set several decades after the events of the first film. Principal photography began in July in Budapest, Hungary.
‘Blade Runner 2’ is an upcoming science-fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve of ‘Sicario’ fame. It is produced by Warner Bros., Alcon Entertainment, 16:14 Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Thunderbird Films, and Torridon Films. It is intended as the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 film and is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2017.
