Fresh off his controversial run as the Joker in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto has joined the cast of Alcon Entertainment’s upcoming sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner. The Academy Award-winning actor rounds out the cast, which already includes Harrison Ford (Star Wars), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Ana de Armas (Knock Knock), Mackenzie Davis (The Martian), and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy).
Though details of Leto’s role in the film are still being kept under wraps, Alcon co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson hint that it’s a significant and memorable one. “We are thrilled that Jared has agreed to play a key role in the Blade Runner sequel,” said Kosove and Johnson in a statement. “He is a phenomenal actor, and we know he will create a truly memorable, never before seen character.”
As demonstrated by his recent divisive performance in Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad, in which his method acting hijinks may have gone too far, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman looks perfect for a new stylish replicant, much like Daryl Hannah’s Pris in the original Blade Runner. Leto can certainly pull off some truly outlandish and off-the-wall behavior, so playing an off-kilter android seems right up his alley.
Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) and Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner (Rex)
Leto, whose performance in Dallas Buyers Club won him more than 60 awards, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe, brings even more talent to a cast that’s already packed with it. Harrison Ford is reprising his iconic role as Rick Deckard, a police officer/bounty hunter tasked to “retire” four renegade androids who escaped to Earth from a space colony.
The Blade Runner sequel will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) and written by Hampton Fancher, who also co-wrote the original with David Peoples, and Michael Green. Story details have not yet been revealed, although it’s been announced that the sequel will be set several decades after the events of the original, which is set in the dystopian Los Angeles of 2019.
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Ridley Scott, who directed the original film based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, will executive produce for Alcon Entertainment, along with Thunderbird Films CEOs Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, as well as Bill Carraro. Alcon acquired the rights to Blade Runner in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin, allowing them to produce prequels and sequels to the sci-fi thriller.
Blade Runner 2 is set to hit theaters on October 6, 2017, after being moved up from its previous January 2018 release date.
