Lot of people got upset last week when the notion of a Blade Runner sequel was brought back to the table, thanks to some side remarks made by Eagle Eye co-writer Travis Wright at a Q&A. /Film reported the story originally and today printed a long, rambling letter from Wright both defining and defending his desire to make a follow-up to Ridley Scott’s 1982 movie.
Wright’s letter can best be summed up in his own closing words: ‘geek on’, but here are some of the most important details.
John Glenn and I were paid to explore a potential secret sequel from 03-05 and wrote several BR sequel approaches working with Bud Yorkin. We never went to script — a fact I mentioned at the q and a — and it wasn’t meant to be some big announcement.
…What does it mean to be human? That’s the central question in life and the paramount question in Science Fiction. More pointedly: Is or isn’t Deckard a replicant? What happens to Rachel? What are the off world colonies like? What happens to replicants once Tyrell is killed by one of his creations? These are some of the questions we explored with Bud Yorkin for a few years and I believe are a great basis for a story many fans like me are dying to see. Working on them has been a dream.
…Bud and I have discussed informally about developing a ‘previs’ loosely based on one of my former BR treatments that’s set off world and explores the questions above. No deal is in place. Let me repeat, no deal is in place. JG may end up with a story credit depending on how much of any story work we did previously remains in the final approach. But that is years away and there are many hurdles between now and then, any one of which could kill the project moving forward. So far just keeping the conversation alive is like shark-fishing with dental floss. My fingers are bloody, but i’m convinced someday i’ll succeed.
…I know there will be haters in regards to ever continuing Deckard’s story, but in my lifetime I’d love to sit in the theater on a friday night of its opening weekend and watch as Deckard sees attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. Who wants to be there with me?!? Geek on.
I don’t feel like I even need to add commentary here; Wright’s statements speak for themselves. He’s got a nostalgic bug named Deckard up his ass, and writing a stand-alone story that explores the same concepts that follow from Blade Runner — as so many others have done, or tried to do — won’t be enough.
Read the entire email over at /Film, and keep the ire on a low simmer; chances are low that this will ever go much farther than it has already.