There is less than a month left before Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures premieres the sequel to one of the definitive modern classics of science fiction movies from the 80s. “Blade Runner 2049,” picking up three decades (both in real life and in-universe) after the 1982 original starring Harrison Ford, has been rather hush-hush (by design) in the trailers and teasers released thus far. That is just as well, considering how the film directed by Denis Villeneuve is said to be packing a lot of secrets about what has since happened to Harrison’s character Rick Deckard and the rest of original cast.
The latest trailer, entitled “Bigger than You,” sticks to the lack of spoilers.
The new trailer
As a much-beloved big-screen sci-fi, the first “Blade Runner” has a sizeable dedicated fandom that will really go over its sequel ("2049") with a fine-tooth comb, including whatever advance material has already been revealed. It is known that star Harrison Ford is in it, although the story focus is on the new character and Blade Runner (anti-Replicant cop) named K, played by Ryan Gosling. The shout-outs to big names from the 80s were also appreciated, like the Atari logo (The first movie was made before Atari tanked into near-irrelevance). But aside from K meeting Rick Deckard, the audience is still kept in the dark.
For anyone thinking that the new “Bigger than You” trailer might shed light on the sequel’s plot mystery, there is no luck. It does, however, play off from a previously-teased scene with Officer K wandering across an urban wasteland. This time we see how it plays out, with the new Blade Runner stumbling into what appears to be a hidden sweatshop putting young children to harsh work conditions.
What appears to be the labor camp’s overseer, played by Lennie James (“The Walking Dead”), first panics at seeing a cop poking about but then hints to K that “bigger men than him” have tried to shut the hidden operation down.
Buried secret
That certainly leaves more questions than it does answers, but it does hype up the overarching plot of “Blade Runner 2049,” which is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green.
Its official plot synopsis hints that the discovery of the shop by K (Ryan Gosling) may be what spurs his search for Rick (Harrison Ford), who might hold the key to averting a possible societal collapse brought on by the secret that K has unearthed. Thankfully original director Ridley Scott is on hand as executive producer to ensure that “Blade Runner 2049” will be as compliant with his original film as much as possible. The sequel, long in coming, arrives in cinemas on October 6.
