Following a tease from the man himself this weekend, Alcon Entertainment has confirmed that wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has been cast in an important supporting role in the upcpming Blade Runner 2. He joins Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling and Robin Wright in the film.
Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) is directing the film, with principal photography scheduled to begin this July. Blade Runner 2 will be released by Warner Bros. in North America on January 12, 2018. Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.
Blade Runner 2 (which has still not announced its official title) is set several decades after the 1982 original. The film is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. Story details have not been revealed.
Alcon Entertainment acquired the Blade Runner 2, television and ancillary franchise rights to the franchise in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.
Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers. Ridley Scott will also executive produce.
Bautista is currently reprising his role as Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He can next be seen in the Melissa McCarthy comedy The Boss, in addition to Kickboxer Vengeance with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Gin Carno, and Lionsgate’s action film Marauders. He was last seen in SPECTRE, Riddick, and The Man with the Iron Fists.
