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It has been nearly 35 years since movie goers were first introduced to Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, but the time has finally come for a long awaited sequel. Blade Runner 2049 will continue Deckard's tale, while potentially not answering the burning question regarding him being a replicant or not, but the larger story in the sequel follows Ryan Gosling as Officer K. The Blade Runner 2049 teaser trailer introduced audiences to the film's new lead and has already generated conversation about how similar the sequel will be the original movie.

The Blade Runner followup already appears to have a similar look and tone as the original film, but there are other potential ways it can emulate its predecessor. One of those would be keeping the adult themes and content, which is what the sequel appears to be doing - with director Denis Villeneuve confirming that the sequel is expected to receive an R Rating.

The news come courtesy of Screen Daily from an interview that the site conducted with Villeneuve. He confirmed that the film will be R-rated and revealed that principal photography has already wrapped, as he is now in the editing stage of the film's development. Villeneuve also joked (?) about being constantly reminded that Blade Runner 2049 is one of the most expensive R-rated films in history:

My producers are finding it fun to remind me that it will be one of the most expensive R-rated independent feature films ever made.

Blade Runner 2049 Trailer

While there has so far been nothing shown in the few pieces of marketing that point towards Blade Runner 2049 needing an R-rating, it's not really a surprise that the sequel is headed in that direction. After all, the first Blade Runner was also rated R, so it is hopefully a good sign that the filmmakers behind the sequel are confident enough in the project to not try and water it down to fit a PG-13 rating and appeal to a wider audience.

Villeneuve is no stranger to R-rated films either, as his previous directorial efforts PrisonersEnemy, and Sicario all received that rating. In those instances, Villeneuve did not make the films unnecessarily gritty or adult, but instead worked in language and violence for the purposes of the story. This should be similar to the situation with Blade Runner 2049, as it tries to recapture the magic of the original film. It should be exciting to see where Villeneuve takes this franchise in the next installment, for related reasons.

And on a related note: Villeneuve concluded his Screen Daily interview by teasing the possibility of Blade Runner 3, acknowledging that he remains as passionate as ever about the sci-fi genre, even after making this year's Arrival and now Blade Runner 2049:

“I’m doomed, I love sci-fi. I have two more ideas now that I would love to do. [And] Blade Runner could go on… we’ll see how this one goes.”

NEXT: Blade Runner 2049 Trailer Breakdown

Source: Screen Daily

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