Harrison Ford’s Return Status In Blade Runner’s New Sequel Series Revealed By Creator
Is Harrison Ford coming back to the Blade Runner franchise?
Blade Runner 2099 creator Silka Luisa reveals whether to expect Ford to reprise his role as Rick Deckard in the upcoming sequel series. The story of Blade Runner 2099 takes place 50 years after the events of the latest film, 2017's Blade Runner 2049. It follows Replicants having taken power in Los Angeles, California, with humans becoming second-class citizens in the process. The series' core characters are Olwen (Michelle Yeoh), a Replicant, and Cora (Hunter Schafer), a human pretending to be a Replicant, working together to stop a group of antagonistic Replicants.
Speaking with Polygon about the upcoming miniseries, Luisa confirmed that, despite his involvement in previous projects, Ford will not return as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2099. The series creator explained that, as a fan of the franchise, she'd want to be up-front and honest about Ford's involvement, stating he will not appear in the series. Although her explanation was short and didn't reveal much about the series itself, her confirmation emphasizes how the TV show will be forging its own path separate from yet connected to the movies.
See what Luisa said below:
Harrison Ford is not in the show. I feel like, as a Blade Runner fan, I would want to know that, so I'm just going to be full disclosure.
Ford portrayed the main protagonist of the original Blade Runner movie, a bounty hunter whose character arc involving the Replicants of the franchise's universe is the defining factor of his character arc. The actor returned to the role in the acclaimed Blade Runner 2049, becoming a core part of the plot, which centered around Ryan Gosling's Replicant character K. However, there was no indication the upcoming TV show would have anything to do with him, especially since so much time has passed between his last appearance and the show.
Luisa has now confirmed this to be the case, with Ford not returning for the series in any capacity. This seems to make sense not only because of Blade Runner's timeline at the point the show begins, but also because the eight-episode miniseries is seemingly going in its own direction. The Prime Video show is centered on a very different dynamic between humans and Replicants, with the power shift being a core element of how the series' events unfold. It's a defining factor for the show, and one that necessitates focus on its core characters.
For now, it's also unclear how much of the story from the movies will be directly mentioned, since the show appears to be moving in its own direction. If anything, Ford's absence means the series can forge its own path with Yeoh and Schafer's characters at the forefront. Even though the show will have its own approach, it's still building off of the franchise that Ford established with his performance as Deckard.
While Blade Runner 2099 is carving out its own path in the sci-fi franchise's universe, it will still likely utilize the many established ideas that Ford's character wrestled with in the very first movie. As more gets revealed about the show, it seems inevitable the series will find ways to reference the past, even if the lead actor of the original movie doesn't make an appearance.