Ridley Scott's THE FOREVER WAR Get's A New Writer

Deadline reports that Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic The Forever War is getting a new screenwriter. They say that D.W. Harper has been tapped by Scott and Fox to develop a new script for the project. Harper recently adapted All You Need Is Kill which has similar tones. It had been rumored that David Peoples (Blade Runner) had also taken a shot at adapting the novel by Joe Haldeman. It sounds like Ridley's involvement with Prometheus, it's sequel Paradise and the Blade Runner sequel has sparked new interest in the film. Forever War has the ability to be the next Avatar franchise for Fox if done properly.

A soldier reluctantly battles an enemy in deep space, and while he spends a short time in battle, the time dilation of space channel causes him to return home to a planet that has aged to the point it is almost unrecognizable to the soldier.

Ridley Scott Wants Harrison Ford In The 'BLADE RUNNER' Sequel Afterall?

There is very little that we know about this sequel to Blade Runner. What we do know is that originally Ridley and writer Hampton Fancher envisioned Blade Runner as the first of series of films exploring the themes of Dick's original short story. Runner bombed at the box office when it was released so the sequels never happened. Since then it has become one of the biggest cult films of all-time. Hampton is in talks to write the sequel with Ridley Scott back as the director. The film is still a couple of years away with Ridley about to start shooting The Counselor with a Prometheus sequel waiting in the wings to go afterwards. It will be set years after the first movie with a female character as the lead not Deckard.

When rumors of Harrison Ford returning as Deckard starting circling the producers of the film killed the rumor quickly. Now there is word from Ridley himself from an interview with TheIndependent stating that Ford could show up. This doesn't mean it's for sure or even that he'll play Deckard but it's interesting none the less.

"I don't think it'll be Harrison [starring]. But I've got to have him in it somewhere. That'd be amusing,"

Justin Lin Could Direct Lone Wolf And Cub Reboot

If you don't recognize the manga Lone Wolf And Cub you might better know the Japanese TV series that would eventually become the Shogun Assassin films. The film is referenced in Kill Bill Vol.2 and highly influenced the action scenes in Kill Bill Vol.1. At one point Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Noah) was working on his own adaptation but the rights reverted and he moved on from the project.

There is word from Deadline that the remake/reboot is now back in the works with Justin Lin (Fast Five) attached to direct with David and Janet Peoples (Unforgiven, Blade Runner, 12 Monkeys) handling the script. I wouldn't hold my breath about Lin as he previously attached himself to Highlander and Terminator 5 only to exit. Let's just hope they keep the gore intact and don't end up making a watered down PG-13 film.

FILMS THAT SHOULD BE MADE: Legend Prequel/Sequel

We've been seeing a renaissance of fairy tale/fantasy films being made within the last couple of years. Recent ones include Snow White And The Huntsman, The Hobbit, Arthur And Lancelot, Oz The Great And Powerful and Maleficent. It would be nice to see a non-story based fantasy film make their way into theaters. Projects that come to mind are the original 80's films like Willow and Legend. It's unlikely that we'll see George Lucas ever try to recapture the success of Willow considering he's now retiring from large scale film making. The latter film on the other hand could be ripe for a sequel or prequel with Ridley Scott making Prometheus and a new Blade Runner film.

Legend while unsuccessful when it first was released quickly became a cult favorite on home video. Easily one of the best examples of the fantasy genre and would be a major influence on Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings trilogy and Hobbit films. While we'll be getting two Hobbit films they will likely be the end of the Tolkien films. I think returning to the world of Legend could be a great way to continue the Tolkien lore. It would be interesting to see Ridley return to the fantasy genre the same way he's revisiting science fiction.

Ridley originally wrote Legend with author William Hjortsberg the two wrote so much that the script went into 15 revisions. Instead of developing a film based on a fairy tale or novel the two created a somewhat original story based around a beast like villain (influenced by Beauty And The Beast) and a quest with magical elements. A large majority of the script was scaled back because it was too lengthy, hugely expensive and impractical in size/scope. A non-issue these days with films pushing budgets to $200-300 million and digital aids like CGI. The original quest was trimmed and characters were limited due to time and budget. Apparently the original script had envisioned thousands of characters that would need makeup effects not unlike Jackson's massive hordes of Goblins/Orcs. The number was scaled back when make up artist Rob Bottin (The Howling, The Thing) signed onto the project. Bottin and his team helped bring to life iconic characters like Darkness, Meg Mucklebones and Blix the goblin.

Universal Pictures financed and distributed the first film when it was originally released. The studio recently made Snow And The Huntsman a dark fairy tale epic with a similar tone of Legend. There seems to be enough unused material that they could pursue another film, be it a prequel or even a sequel. Many characters and subplots were unexplored that could help create the bones of a new film. Casting might not be too much of an issue as Tom Cruise seems willing to keep making large genre films with All You Need Is Kill and Horizons/Oblivion about to go into production. Even if Ridley decides to only produce directors like Guillermo del Toro, Duncan Jones and Rupert Sanders could do the source material justice.

Alcon Debunks Harrison Ford/Blade Runner Rumor

Deadline has received confirmation from Alcon Entertainment's Andrew Kosove that the rumor of Harrison Ford being pursued for the new Blade Runner is false. He stated that they are still in early stages of the breaking what the story will be and haven't even chosen a writer yet. So the casting of the film is the further thing from their mind at this point. Ford isn't ruled out completely but the rumor has been debunked for now. Kosove also mentions they could end up making the new Blade Runner film in the vain of Prometheus. Still set in the same universe of the first film but still being a stand alone movie.

“It is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about Harrison Ford being in Blade Runner,” Kosove told me. “To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it. The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.” Kosove said they didn’t want in any way to disparage an iconic actor like Ford, but it certainly sounds as though they do not plan to continue his story line. “It’s like asking if we’re going to make the sky red or blue, there has been no discussion about it,” he said. “What Ridley does in Prometheus is a good template for what we’re trying to do. He created something that has some association to the original Alien, but lives on its own as a standalone movie.” Asked point blank if Ford could resurface, Kosove said: “In advance of knowing what we’re going to do, I supposed you could say yes, he could. But I think it is quite unlikely.”

I previously stated that the best way to tackle this project was to mimic the connection between Alien and Prometheus. It seems like Kosove and Ridley very well could be going in that direction. If I have to come up with a writer that could do this subject matter justice it would be Damon Lindelof. He previously worked with Ridley and 20th Century Fox on Prometheus and seems to have retained all the suspenseful elements/tone from the original Alien film. There has been some speculation this will be next for Ridley but many projects have come up that have scripts in place. I expect a film of this scale with the amount of artwork needed would take at least a year to develop it's concept art.

Screenwriter For New Blade Runner Film To Be Announced Soon

ThePlaylist while talking to producer Andrew Kosove about many his projects in development. The conversation moved towards the new Blade Runner movie which currently has Ridley Scott attached to direct. Ridley has given the impression in recent interviews that Runner could be one of this next films if everything comes together. Kosove mentions that they haven't decided whether it will be a prequel or sequel. Also, an announcement on the film's screenwriter will happen early in the new year.

Sometime in the first two months of the new year we'll announce who the screenwriter will be and whether or not it's a prequel or sequel. And then we'll be off to the races.

Here's the thing about Ridley. Ridley is a special guy. He's a force of nature. He's got a lot of stuff that he's working on. I believe it's an extremely high priority for Ridley, that's what he's said to me. This project is moving forward aggressively in development. 

 

Currently the director is finishing up post-production on Prometheus which recently had it's teaser trailer released this week (jaw-dropping awesome!). Apparently he's been bitten by the science fiction bug and wants to make more films in the genre. He has gone as far to say that if successful there could be sequels to Prometheus exploring that universe. Not to mention development on a film based on the novel Forever War.

Ridley could very well could expand the Blade Runner world similar to what he's doing with the Alien universe in Prometheus. A lot of avenues haven't been explored since we basically only saw a film noir set in a futuristic Los Angeles, off-world colonies and replicant rebellions sound too good not to focus on. That being said, Ridley has fingers in a lot of projects and could easily jump into something else.

Ridley Scott Talks New Blade Runner Film

While we are still desperately waiting on the first trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus which is expected to have DNA/connections to the Alien franchise. There is development on another iconic film that Ridley will be revisiting. Alcon Entertainment (Insomnia) nabbed the film rights to Blade Runner and were pursuing Scott to direct. Ridley officially joined the untitled Blade Runner film as it's director and producer. It's expected that Warner Bros. who made the original and have worked with Alcon in the past will distribute.

Ridley spoke briefly to Speakeasy (via Playlist) about the film. Scott is considering this project a sequel even though Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) will likely not be in it. He seems to have found a writer and gives the impression development is further along than we assumed.

 "liable to be a sequel.....I think I’m close to finding a writer that might be able to help me deliver. We’re quite a long way in, actually."

"Scott says the new “Blade Runner” project is moving ahead “not with the past cast, of course.” No Deckard? “No, not really,” he says."

Some possible writers could include Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek, Star Trek 2) who recently worked with Scott on Prometheus adding massive re-writes to the original script. Another candidate could include Travis Wright (Eagle Eye) who was confirmed by SlashFilm as writing a Blade Runner sequel before Alcon/Ridley ever got involved. It will be interesting who ends up writing because we have no idea what angle they're aiming for. There has been talk of continuing the original dectective noir aspect also taking things into outer space focusing the replicant uprisings on off-world colonies.

CAST EM': Ridley Scott's Untitled Blade Runner Film

Now that Prometheus is wrapping up and starting post-production Ridley Scott's next film is gathering some steam. The yet Untitled Blade Runner Film is gearing up to be another exciting experiment of Ridley revisiting his past masterpieces. This time focusing on the world of replicants (cyborgs) and blade runners. We have no idea where the story will go or how it will be connected to the original film. My hope is that at the very least still it's as dark and violent as the first movie.

I have a few ideas of actors and actresses who should be considered for roles in the film. I'm using the fact that Prometheus' casting ended up with a majority of actors Ridley hasn't worked with before. The casting of Prometheus is being used to influence how I could see Ridley, Alcon and Warners Bros. could be placing actors in roles. Of course the film is from starting production any time soon with a writer only rumored to be in talks.

RYAN GOSLING: High in demand at the studio Ryan is quickly moving into the leading man role. He's gathered praise for films like Blue Valentine, Lars & The Real Girl and Half Nelson (Oscar Nominated). Along with a lot of buzz for his art house action thriller Drive that could see him earn some awards nominations this year. Gosling is currently shooting Gangster Squad, attached to Nicolas Winding Refn's Logan's Run remake and being considered for Steven Soderbergh's The Man From UNCLE.

TOM HARDY: Hardy is also quickly becoming important to Warner Bros. starring in two large Christopher Nolan films Inception and Dark Knight Rises. He's also seemingly getting his own WB franchise in the making replacing Mel Gibson in Max Mad Fury Road. Warrior could be the breakout film for Hardy as it's getting a lot of awards talk. He's also worked with Ridley previously on Black Hawk Down.

RICHARD ARMITMAGE: Richard (Captain America, Hobbit) is another actor about to explode in the next couple of years. He's mostly known for his work on British television on shows like Spooks, Robin Hood and Strike Back. However, this will all change when the two Hobbit films are released with Richard playing Thorin Oakenshield. Warner Bros. is financing the films and might look to the actor who is almost unrecognizable in his dwarf makeup for future big projects like Blade Runner. 

TOM HIDDLESTON: Tom is another rising star having a breakout commercial role in Marvel's Thor 1-2 and Avengers playing the villain Loki. He's also gathering some praise for upcoming films Deep Blue Sea and Steven Spielberg's War Horse. I'd like to think that he would fit nicely in this world either in the role of hero or villain. I could see Hiddleston becoming the next Michael Fassbender if given the right film projects.

JOEL KINNAMAN: The Swedish actor blew up when he headlined the thriller Snabba Cash. Landing roles in David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the acclaimed show The Killing. Joel re-teamed with director Daniel Espinosa for the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds film Safe House. He's currently filming the Snabba Cash sequel and is wanted by Steven Soderbergh for a lead role in The Man From UNCLE. 

ROONEY MARA: David Fincher's muse is going be big after The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is released in December. From the trailers it looks like Rooney might be Oscar bound and could end up with a nomination. Ridley actively pursed Noomi Rapace for Prometheus who played Lisbeth in in the original Swedish film. She has similar qualities being able to give a strong psychical performance.

BELLA HEATHCOTE: Bella is already making a name for herself starring alongside Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt. The Australian actress is likely to explode after she is seen in Tim Burton's Dark Shadows (A Warner Bros. Production) and Andrew Dominik's gangster flick Cogan's Trade.

FELICITY JONES: Felicity (The Tempest) is a young actress who is giving interesting performances in smaller films like Cemetery Junction and Like Crazy. She had been in contention to play Snow White in the dark fantasy thriller Snow White & The Huntsman. Jones has a lot of potential and isn't over exposed like many other actresses her age.

GEMMA ARTERTON: Gemma had originally met with Ridley for a role in Prometheus but ultimately didn't get it. Catching his eye with her film The Disappearance of Alice Creed. Where she went from damsel to a lady who can kick some ass. While that didn't work out I think she might be a better fit for this with her sultry look. She's been mostly a background player in large films but is moving more into the spotlight with Alice Creed and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters alongside Jeremy Renner.

RUTH WILSON: I've been vocal on the site recently for Ruth to be put in more films. Ruth is the main reason the BBC series Luther is such a success. She's currently attached to Disney's Lone Ranger along with a role in Joe Wright's (Hanna, Atonement) Anna Karenina. 

Scott Z. Burns To Write New Blade Runner Film?

Twitch is reporting on some progress on the Untitled Blade Runner Film from Ridley Scott. They say Ridley, Alcon and Warner Bros. are looking at screenwriter Scott Z. Burns to work on the film's script. It might be a move similar to bringing on Damon Lindelof (Lost) to re-work the Alien prequel Prometheus. Burns isn't a big name but wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion. He's also written scripts for large upcoming projects such as Steven Soderbergh's The Man From UNCLE and David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The fact is that Burns seems to be able to write action well and let's hope the science fiction side of things works out.

Many of the details concerning the project have yet to be answered. Like, if this is a direct sequel/prequel or like Prometheus just set in the Blade Runner universe. If the film noir aspect will be brought up or if it will be a straight up science fiction action film. Along with if will be set on Earth or off-world which had been mentioned a number of times in the original film humans are busy colonizing other planets. Using replicants as work slaves and soldiers in the process of this expansion leading to an outright rebellion by the cyborgs.

UPDATE: Word from ThePlaylist via Twitter is that both Burns' reps and Scott himself are denying the rumors of him working on Blade Runner.  This could be a move by Burns to keep early talks going or Twitch's original story was bull to begin with.

Ridley Scott Set To Direct Blade Runner Prequel/Seuqel

Deadline reports that Ridley Scott has made a deal with Alcon Entertainment to produce and direct a new Blade Runner film. The film has been toted as being a prequel or sequel depending on the angle they finally agree on. Harrison Ford has been ruled out but it's expected to be ready for around 2014 with Warner Bros. distributing.

I don't find this too surprising as Ridley came to rescue of the Alien prequel (Prometheus) when Fox turned down his suggested director. Ridley must know now that he should be involved in these projects so that his original work doesn't get tarnished in the process. I do hope that they take the angle of a prequel and show the off-world colonies, wars and the replicant rebellion.

EDITORIAL: 5 Science Fiction Films That Could Use A Prequel/Reboot

 A new trend lately has been prequels and reboots it first started with Batman Begins giving us the untold origins of Batman. Currently science fiction has been the new genre to get a new wave of prequels and reboots. The Thing, Robocop, Total Recall and a somewhat connected Alien prequel are all getting made. So I figured I'd give my opinion on some science fiction films that could use either a prequel or reboot.

SCREAMERS: It's one of the lesser known Philip K. Dick adaptions yet it's one that could be either remade or given a prequel and still be equally as interesting. Screamers focuses on a waring group of industrial colonists that have been fighting each other for years on a distant planet. One side decides on creating a super lethal robot that would only attack when it locates a heartbeat. In the film there is talk of a massive war that included the use of nukes. While the isolation thriller works on it's own a backtrack to the origins of the war and the introduction to the Screamers could be worth visiting. As the original film didn't actually show much of the fighting between the two sides likely due to the limited budget. There are also chilling stories told by characters of the evolved Screamers infuriating bunkers and massacring units which could be explored.

ALIENS:  I'm a die hard fan of Aliens and my favorite parts involve the cut scenes of colony that were in the director's cut. A Hadley's Hope prequel could give more insight of what actually happened with Newt's family and the horror show that she must have endured. I think it would be interesting to see the colony slowly taken over by a horde of aliens with limited weapons. The ending would be predictable but I still think there could be some thrills. I figure if 20th Century Fox was aiming for two Alien prequels an Aliens prequel wouldn't out of the question. If this was made a couple of years ago Chloe Moretz would have made a decent Newt. 

BLADE RUNNER: There has been buzz ever since the Blade Runner rights have been picked up for a new film. While I'm almost completely against a Blade Runner sequel, a prequel could be amazing. Picking up where the replicants staged an off-world revolution could be an intriguing story. It wouldn't even need to feature Roy Batty but could show how miserable the life of a replicant is off-world where they are treated like slaves.

JURASSIC PARK: Universal has been trying for years to make Jurassic Park 4 and has yet to crack a solid story. Well it's tough to come up with ideas of why people would be trapped on the remote island. A prequel set on Isla Sorna (Site B) could be way to solve this problem as we don't really know what happened there when the park was shut down on Isla Nublar. Perhaps they went through a similar problem with the island's security measures. This would take place before the events of The Lost World. I could see a group stranded group of scientists, crew/locals and game wardens fighting off dinosaurs and trying to get off the island. It would also remove the need to involve a child and end up more of a thriller in the end.

STARSHIP TROOPERS: Starship Troopers setups an exciting bug filled universe and needs to be explored again. Most will remember it for the film's graphic violence and campy nature. Yet it's one of the only films of it's kind, as it's an alien invasion movie where we are the destructive invaders. The film is littered with older soldiers already maimed from previous battles. I think instead of another direct-to-DVD sequel they could totally reboot the franchise and show how the war was started.

WHICH FILM WOULD LIKE TO SEE GET A PREQUEL/REBOOT?

Producers of New Blade Runner Film Mention Christopher Nolan

I saw this coming yesterday but io9 was able to speak with producers from Alcon Entertainment about their Blade Runner project. They mention Christopher Nolan as their dream director to work on sequel/prequel along with involvement from Ridley Scott. They previously produced Nolan's thriller Insomnia.


“Our friend Chris Nolan who we did ‘Insomnia’ [with] would be in the pie in the sky for us. I think the methodology that Chris Nolan brought to ‘Batman’ is precisely what we aspire to whomever the filmmaker is, whether Ridley comes back and joins us or it’s someone else. It’s precisely what we aspire to with ‘Blade Runner,’ that’s the template for us.”

Nolan is one of the most talented "new wave" of directors and would be my top choice too. As he's leaving Batman and doesn't have anything set in stone when he's finished with The Dark Knight Rises. I'm sure if it's offered to him he'd get total control as he would with his original projects. I believe he could really do something special within the world of Blade Runner while being faithful to the original film.





Should Christopher Nolan Direct A New Blade Runner Film? Leave Your Comments!

Warner Bros. Prepping Blade Runner Prequel & Sequels?

Deadline reports that Alcon Entertainment (Warner Bros.) are in final talks to acquire the rights to Blade Runner. The rights acquisition would include the ability to make television shows, sequels and prequel films. Blade Runner is considered by many as the greatest science fiction film ever made.

So is this good or bad news? It all depends on what direction Warner Bros. ultimately goes. I really believe a sequel could be one of the worst things ever. The ambiguity of Decker being an replicant or not is one of the strongest things about the original film. On the other hand I believe a Roy Batty prequel could be amazing if done properly. Batty was mentioned as being a replicant solider and being involved in many off-world battles. It would be interesting to explore his journey from the off-world colonies back to Earth. Not to mention giving us the origins of the other replicants and their struggle for freedom.

I used to be very opposed to prequels until Ridley Scott started working on his Alien-ish prequel Prometheus. Everything that has been rumored and/or released about the project has been stellar. The casting has also been blowing my mind with every addition. My hope would be that Ridley would get the prequel bug after making Prometheus and get's an offer from Warner Bros. to make a Blade Runner prequel.

The other option would be getting one of their there prestige directors to come in and make something stunning. Christopher Nolan is prime to make the jump to hardcore science fiction and with his exit on the Batman franchise it's very likely he'd be open to another studio project. The studio darling has admired Ridley Scott and Stanley Kubrick both pioneers of science fiction films. While there were elements of science fiction in Inception it would be exciting to see Nolan make a space/cyborg themed film.


Do You Like The Idea of A Blade Runner Prequel/Sequel? Who Should Direct? Leave Your Comments!

Duncan Jones's Blade Runner Homage "Future City Film" Is Next, Mute Is Dead?

Writer/director Duncan Jones is becoming the next big name in science fiction films. His first film Moon is one of the best from the genre in the last 10 years and his upcoming Source Code looks to be just as interesting.

There had been talk from Jones his next film would be Mute. A film noir set in a futuristic Berlin with a lead character that is unable to speak. Mute is apparently having issues with finding fiances and could be stuck in limbo. In a new interview with WeGotThisCovered , Duncan says that his next film will be Future City Film (working title) and talks on Mute's issues. Another homage to the work of Ridley Scott taking inspiration from Blade Runner. Mute was also to take some elements from the classic android film. His first film Moon takes a lot of it's tone and imagery from Ridley's Alien.

While I'm upset that Mute is being put on hold as long as Jones is sticking with science fiction I'm happy. Plus any film that is influenced by Blade Runner is going to interest me. I'll be curious to see if the noir elements which were going to be used in Mute will also be involved with the new project.

Duncan Jones' Mute (2010-2011)

One of the best new talents in science fiction is Duncan Jones. The writer/director has made one of the best looking independent sci-fi films in recent memory with Moon. The shoe-string budget didn't hinder the scale and slick look of the movie. Jones recently revealed his love for Blade Runner and his shock that another film like it has never been made. He plans on making his own take on the futuristic film noir. It will follow a mute bartender looking for his abducted girlfriend in a future Berlin.