Blade Runner 2049

Released in 2017, *Blade Runner 2049* continues the world of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film *Blade Runner*. Denis Villeneuve directed the sequel from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Ryan Gosling plays K, a Los Angeles police officer and a replicant: a bioengineered human tasked with hunting older replicants. Harrison Ford returns as Rick Deckard, the former blade runner whose disappearance has become central to the story.

K’s investigation begins when he retires Sapper Morton, a replicant living on a protein farm. Beneath a dead tree on Morton’s property, K finds a buried box containing the remains of Rachael, the replicant played by Sean Young in the original film. The evidence shows that she died after giving birth. K’s superior, Lieutenant Joshi, fears that proof replicants can reproduce could destabilize society and orders him to find the child.

A childhood memory of hiding a wooden horse leads K to an orphanage and then to Dr. Ana Stelline, who designs memories for replicants. When she confirms that his memory was lived by someone, K begins to believe he might be Rachael’s son. His search eventually takes him to the ruins of Las Vegas, where he finds Deckard. Meanwhile, industrialist Niander Wallace seeks the child because he believes reproduction could allow him to expand his replicant workforce. Wallace’s enforcer, Luv, captures Deckard, while K learns that Stelline—not he—is Deckard and Rachael’s daughter. Wounded in a fight with Luv, K frees Deckard and brings him to Stelline.

The film’s supporting cast includes Ana de Armas as Joi, K’s holographic companion; Robin Wright as Joshi; Sylvia Hoeks as Luv; Jared Leto as Wallace; Dave Bautista as Morton; and Carla Juri as Stelline. Its production reunited the sequel with Fancher, who had co-written the 1982 film’s screenplay. Roger Deakins served as cinematographer, and Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch composed the score. The film’s Los Angeles, abandoned Las Vegas, and vast industrial landscapes give K’s investigation markedly different settings.

*Blade Runner 2049* runs 163 minutes and reached United States theaters on October 6, 2017. It won two Academy Awards: Best Cinematography for Deakins and Best Visual Effects. The cinematography prize was Deakins’s first Oscar after numerous previous nominations. Despite strong critical reviews and those awards, the film’s worldwide box office of roughly $259 million was considered disappointing against its substantial production and marketing costs.