Blade Runner Sequel Coming From Ridley Scott, But Will Vangelis Do The Soundtrack?

Ridley Scott may soon be directing a Blade Runner sequel, according to film production company Alcon.

“I started my first meetings on the Blade Runner sequel last week,” Scott revealed in an interview this week. “We have a very good take on it.”

Hampton Fancher, who wrote the screenplay for the original film, based on a story by  Philip K. Dick, is in talks to write the Blade Runner sequel. The filmmakers have not revealed anything about the story, other than that the new story will take place some years after the events of the first film and that it will feature a female protagonist.

Released by Warner Bros. almost 30 years ago, Blade Runner was adapted by Fancher and David Peoples from Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and directed by Scott following his landmark Alien.

The question on our minds is whether Vangelis will be handling the score. The original Blade Runner soundtrack is both a classic score and one of the more influential works of electronic music of the last 30 years.

Could anyone else recapture the spirit of the original in a Blade Runner 2?

43 thoughts on “Blade Runner Sequel Coming From Ridley Scott, But Will Vangelis Do The Soundtrack?”

  1. Trolling the past is a waste of time..
    For all i care justin bieber might do a great job at it..
    he actually might..
    lol

  2. “Could anyone else recapture the spirit of the original in a Blade Runner 2?”

    Can Vangelis recapture the spirit of the original? Listen to the score for the Star Wars prequels; the new music was written years later, with a different mindset. Even if he’s available, would he want to revisit his own earlier style?

    As to anyone else, listen to the album EARTH AND EXILE by Spaceplayer, a good candidate.

  4. Since the man who had all the good ideas for the original movie is dead (P.K.Dick), and that story was a stand-alone, this movie can be no better than any other piece of junk that hollywood produces. This will be The Matrix 2 and 3 fiasco all over again.

    1. >the man who had all the good ideas for the original

      Did you ever read the original, the book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”? When they made the film, they pretty much completely re-worked all of Dick’s content. PKD thought androids could never be as empathetic as humans. PKD wrote about an Earth that was vacant, not over-crowded like Shanghai. PKD wrote a love story (!) where the bounty hunter and his wife got back together at the end, and their “simple” human love was warm and touching, classic PKD handling of weird elements.

      The film version was cinematic and good, too, but in many ways the reverse of PKD’s content. I’m sighing but I bet Ridley Scott can make a similar sequel, and I bet he will arrange for a soundtrack that is equally cool. (Unless “Prometheus” bombs, then other people might make his choices for him.)

      1. I did read the source short story, hence my original comment. The screenplay had many differences, but the core concept and mechanics were pure Dick. Without that, it’s just another action movie. Sadly, its extremely rare that a quality sci fi screenplay is generated without literature as source material.

        1. Blade Runner doesn’t have very much in common with the PKD story at all.

          And the movie script isnt even that great – its got all sorts of problems.

          But BR succeeded tremendously at immersing you in a believable, sexy futuristic world. Put Scott & Vangelis together again and they will make some magic!

          Does anybody know what Vangelis has been working on lately?

          1. Oops!

            I just went over to Wikipedia and reviewed what it had to say about Vangelis and Blade Runner. He might not WANT to work on a sequel. Wikpedia says:

            “A disagreement led to Vangelis withholding permission for his performance of the music from Blade Runner to be released, and the studio instead hired a group of musicians dubbed “The New American Orchestra” to record the official LP released at the time. It took 12 years before the disagreement was resolved and Vangelis’s own work was released in the United States, in 1994. The soundtrack was still incomplete, as the film contained some non-Vangelis tracks as well.[22] Over the years a series of bootleg recordings of Blade Runner soundtrack from unknown sources have been released, mostly targeted to collectors as “private releases”, that contain most of the music cues (including the Ladd Company logo theme).[25] A three disc box set was released in late 2007 containing the 1994 album, a second disc containing some more of the missing music cues and a third disc of new Vangelis material inspired by Blade Runner. The 2007 release still lacks some incidental music, most notably the background music from the Taffey Lewis bar scene featuring vocals by Demis Roussos.”

            On the other hand, Vangelis apparently hasn’t been doing a lot lately, so if he’s healthy he may want to get busy.

            1. MarkLouis

              Scott and Vangelis worked together on 1492, after Blade Runner, and again on the 25th anniversary edition, so this seems like a non-issue.

              1. I hope it’s a non-issue but business is business. “1492” was Paramount, a different studio, and the 25th anniversary edition is described by Wikipedia as “incomplete.” We’ll see.

  5. OMG. This picture es LITERALLY my facebook profile. I mean, I took that picture!!! With my HD bluray film And My girlfriend’s camera…

  6. I’m terrified of the prospects of a Blade Runner sequel. It is hands down, my all time favorite film, and I really hope Ridley Scott knows what he’s doing. So many small moments in the film still haunt me. Plus, it had Sean Young, before the extreme crazy kicked in.

  7. I think Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross could do a great job with a film like this. Their soundtracks for The Social Network and Girl with Dragon Tattoo were both excellent, progressive, synth driven albums that, in my opinion, are up there with the original Vangelis soundtrack. Obviously different, but it’d be hard to go back and try and create something like the original Vangelis stuff, just because some of that music is so dated now. It’d be nifty to hear Film Noir with a slight industrial twist.

    Wouldn’t mind a Jonny Greenwood/Trent Reznor collaboration on this one… That would be impressive.

    1. Totally agree on Trent (Greenwood can stay at home IMO, although Geoff Barrow might be a good choice based on his Drokk project) I think he would do a fantastic job if Vangelis isn’t available.

      Although I’d rather have Vangelis for sure.

      1. I’d rather see Trent Reznor stay at home. The soundtrack for “There will be Blood” (a film which sadly did not win the Oscar that year) by Greenwood was one of the best I have heard and certainly has a vibe to it that could fit a sequel to blade runner.

    2. Trent Reznor’s work away from NIN is pleasant enough, but derivative. If you’ve heard Eno and Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s stuff from the SEVENTIES, you’ll know Reznor’s stuff isn’t that new.

      What is new is directors not going for John Williams lite, but having open ears. I liked hearing those Reznor Ross scores, even if they’re not that original musically.

      No comparison to Vangelis’ work on Blade Runner, which Reznor would probably agree with. I read he was a big fan of that score, too.

  8. agree that it is a question if a worthy sequel can be done. i am actually quite anxious about it. and as far the soundtrack goes…how can you reproduce the blader runner blues? it´s not about sound design but the emotion the soundtrack conveys which lacks in any sort of electronic music nowadays.

    my vote goes to sakamoto and fennesz collab. impossible but i like to imagine things like that.

  15. As one who greatly appreciates Vangelis’s work, as well as that of Scott, I’d simply like to hear him *expand* on a couple of the old themes and drop in a touch of that classic CS-80 pad for nostalgia’s sake. Otherwise, it would seem like a good musical challenge. He is known for being a bit insular and focused on his own visions, but this won’t be a kid’s movie to milk with toys and posters. I see no particular gain in using newer musicians just for sales’ sake; it doesn’t feel like the right tack in this case. Both of these men have become more seasoned over time. IMO, a more evolved revisiting of everything involved would be welcome. BR is a very adult film in the truest sense. That’s rather rare, especially in sci-fi/fantasy. Due credit to the talent others have mentioned, like Reznor, but it deserves the dignity of a hopefully enhanced Vangelis return.

    1. It would be great to see Scott and Vangelis so this, but I hope to God that Scott doesn’t try to be too faithful to the original movie. I want to see more of the Blade Runner world, not see a sequel to the last story. And the only actor I’d want to see again would be Rutger Hauer, who stole the movie from Harrison Ford.

      Hopefully no generic Hans Zimmer type orchestra score! Listen to Vangelis score and is full of both catchy melodies and quirky electronic drones and sounds.

  16. I would love to see what an artists like Ulrich Schnauss can cook up, his sound should be perfect for a Blade Runner Pre/Sequel .. my 2cents

  17. vangelis should do it, but if they not, i´m shue daft punk would do a great modern score like in tron2

    or vangelis and daft punk should do the score together 😉

    i would really enjoy blade runner 2 and 3

    but please please please let the story and end be great and better than in tron2!

  22. i think it would depend entirely on the tone of the movie itself. would it even be a sequel, or a “in the same universe as” kind of thing, like Prometheus/Alien?

    i think these people could give it a good run for the money (in no particular order)
    hans zimmer
    reznor/ross
    Mika Vainio (ø)
    Ben Watkins
    Massive Attack

  23. Nero (Dubstep Duo) should be the ones score the sequel. If you haven’t already, check out their debut album “Welcome Reality” and you will see why.

  25. Nothing will ever be up there with either Vangelis music or the original Blade Runner movie. That’s the truth and there’s notjing to it. It’s magical, dark and wonderful all at the same time

  27. One name that is HUGE in Europe (a pioneer in electronic music, that no one here has mentioned) is Jean Michel Jarre. He’s a creative genius, and has been releasing albums since the 1970s. He lives and breathes synthesizers and I think could do a superb job ! He can create that special retro/futuristic sound for the new film.

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