'Guardians of the Galaxy' Star Dave Bautista Joins 'Blade Runner' Sequel
Dave Bautista in 2015 at auto event in Frankfurt (Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Jaguar Land Rover)
By Justin Kroll, Variety
Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has joined the cast of Alcon’s Blade Runner sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
Variety first reported last week that Robin Wright is joining the movie directed by Sicario helmer Denis Villeneuve. The untitled film hits theaters on Jan. 12, 2018.
Related: Robin Wright Joins ‘Blade Runner’ Sequel in Key Role
Sony Pictures Releasing International announced last month that it will distribute the film in all overseas territories. Alcon has a longstanding domestic output agreement with Warner Bros.
The story, written by Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green and based on a story by Fancher and Ridley Scott, continues several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original — which was set in a dystopian 2019 Los Angeles.
The original film, based on the 1968 Philip K. Dick story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” starred Ford as an ex-police officer tracking down escaped genetically engineered replicants who had returned to Earth illegally in order to extend their four-year life spans. In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Related: Ridley Scott Receives Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Principal photography on the sequel is scheduled to begin in July, with cinematographer Roger Deakins reuniting with Villeneuve on the project. Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television, and ancillary franchise rights 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 Alcon co-chiefs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.
Scott will serve as executive producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEOs of Thunderbird Films, will also serve as executive producers along with Bill Carraro.
Bautista recently appeared in Marvel Studios’ blockbuster hit Guardians of the Galaxy and the newest installment of the James Bond franchise Spectre from Columbia Pictures. His upcoming projects include Lionsgate’s 2016 action film Marauders starring Bruce Willis and Adrian Grenier as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where he will reprise his role as Drax the Destroyer alongside Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, due out 2017 from Marvel Studios. He is repped by Gersh and DMBV.
Watch Dave Bautista’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ screen test with Chris Pratt:
