When the original Blade Runner movie was released in 1982, Donald Trump was stirring up controversy by erecting a 58-floor Midtown skyscraper that drowned Fifth Avenue in shadows and messed up subway commutes. The film was set in 2019, so we’ve still got two years to fulfill its apocalyptic industrial prophecy, but seeing as Trump is now responsible for the entire country, getting there doesn’t seem impossible. At least we’ll have flying cars!
The sequel, Blade Runner 2049, predicts an even bigger mess: there are no trees, California is overrun with slave replicants, and the air quality is awful. But there are still flying cars, and Ryan Gosling is still young and hot, even with his nose broken. The actor — who plays blade runner Agent K — is joined by Harrison Ford in his original role as blade runner Rick Deckard, who has now been missing for 30 years. Jared Leto also makes an appearance as bung-eyed android maker Neander Wallace. Robin Wright plays a (seemingly) human woman, which the original film was a bit short on, though of course there’s no way to be sure she isn’t just a super hot robot. We’ll have to wait until October 6 to find out.
The plot is still a mystery, but one thing’s for sure — the film will be visually stunning. The hazy yellow shots of Gosling trekking across a scorched badlands shrouded with heavy pollution should look particularly cool, if not completely terrifying, on the big screen. Maybe it can convince Trump to rejoin the Paris Agreement.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via YouTube