Blade Runner 2049 returns to debate Human or Replicant and what defines humanity

 

It's been nearly 35 years since Blade Runner was released in 1982. Although under-performing at the box office, over time the movie became sci-fi cult classic through it's thought-provoking elements with visuals and graphics ahead of its time. The movie is also known for its controversial SEVEN different versions from the original theatrical release, Director's Cut (although unsanctioned by the director himself!), etc. until the Final Cut in 2007.

Before delving further, let's first establish a couple of important definitions from this futuristic world :

What is a Replicant?
The major theme of the original film revolves around the human sub-species called Replicants, bio-engineered androids created by the Tyrell Corporation as a worker race for less desirable jobs to human, including wars. Replicants appear virtually indistinguishable from adult humans and may possess enhanced strength, speed, agility, resilience, or intelligence depending on the model. In the year 2019 when the movie takes place, the latest Replicant models are the Nexus-6. These models were created with a limited 4-year life span as a failsafe before they can develop advance emphatic cognition becoming more "human" and thereby harder to identify. Replicants are also called "skin-jobs".

What is a Blade Runner?
Blade Runners are considered to be a specialized police unit to track down Replicants on Earth and "retire" them (bluntly put, killing them off). Due an off-world mutiny by Nexus-6 Replicants, all replicants have been banned from Earth. Because replicants appear completely human, Blade Runners are trained to identify them through psychological methods like the Voight-Kampff test. Using a special device, a suspected replicant will be asked a series of questions whereby their responses will unmask their true identity.

A Voight-Kampff machine for replicant testing. Photo source antonidepowski.com.

The original scifi novel adapted to film as Blade Runner.

The original Blade Runner was based on a novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick which provided the basic of plot for the film. However in the novel, the motivation for Deckard being a Blade Runner is to earn enough money to purchase a real-life sheep to replace his robotic sheep. Yes, you read that correctly! In this post-apocalyptic future depicted in the novel, Earth went through a global war whereby dust-radiation fallout killed all animals. Therefore, owning a living animal is sort of a status symbol! The novel subsequently spin-off 3 more sequels: The Edge of Human, Replicant Night and Eye and Talon.

 

In the 1982 movie adaptation re-titled Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott, Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) is instead tasked to hunt down four Nexus-6 Replicants that have found their way on Earth. In the megatropolis of Los Angeles, Deckard eventually "retires" three out of four replicants but in the process also comes across a newer model replicant named Rachel (played by Sean Young) who did not know she is one. Deckard and Rachel form a relationship and by the end of the movie Deckard questions the ethics of his job and what it really means to be human.

Due to nature of the ending in the Director's and Final Cuts, geeks have been debating for years on whether Deckard could be a Replicant as well due to his dream of a unicorn and his colleague Gaff (played by James Edward Olmos) leaving him a unicorn origami. On the assumption that Deckard would not have spoken about the unicorn to anyone, this suggests that the dream was implanted as per replicants like Rachel with her dream of spiders. Adding to the controversy, Harrison Ford has said he does not think Deckard is a replicant whilst Director Ridley Scott said that he is. If curious, read more about the debate at Quora.

Replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) injured after a struggle with Deckard. Replicants are neither robots nor cyborgs. They are wholly organic and bleed when injured

Film Intel: Much of Blade Runner was filmed in Los Angeles during the early 1980s redressed to depict Los Angeles of the future in 2019. One of the major sets placing J.F. Sebastian's apartment was shot in the historic Bradbury Building built in 1893. The Bradbury still remains standing today and restored as a functional office building. Our Outpost Commander had the opportunity to visit this film site a couple of years back and snapped these photos for comparison against the movie shots:

Notice placed at the lobby of the Bradbury Building sharing its association with Blade Runner.

The distinctive stairways used by Deckard in the movie.

Photo source: maxpictures.com

The skylight in the movie with added effects of an advertisement airship overhead.

As mentioned earlier, there are seven versions of Blade Runner comprising:

1. Workprint Prototype version (1982): Shown for test audience.
2. San Diego Sneak Preview (1982): Shown once only which is identical to the US theatrical version with three additional scenes
3. US Theatrical release (1982): Shown in America cinemas with Harrison Ford's voice over and a "happy ending" where Deckard and Rachel figuratively "drive off into the sunset".
4. International Theatrical release (1982): Similar to the US Theatrical release with 3 more violent action scenes.
5. US Broadcast version (1986): Toned down violence, profanity and nudity for television broadcast.
6. The Director's Cut (1992): Although presented as a Director's Cut, Ridley Scott has publically stated he was not satisfied with this version. Major changes include removal of Harrison Ford's voice over and additional of the unicorn dream sequence, which fueled speculation of Deckard as a human or Replicant.
7. The Final Cut (2007), or 25th Anniversary Edition: The only version that director Ridley Scott claimed he had full control over and cut to his satisfaction. For newbies, this may be the most suitable edition to watch before the sequel movie.

For more insight into the original Blade Runner listen to the geeks on BFM's At the Movies.

The world of Blade Runner 30 years later in 2049.

Now in 2017 after 35 years, Blade Runner will finally release a long-awaited sequel. Blade Runner 2049 takes place 30 years later in the series timeline introducing a new Blade Runner named K played by Ryan Gosling.  Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) directs this sequel movie with Ridley Scott in the role of Executive Producer. Veteran actor Harrison Ford returns once again as Rick Deckard in a Blade Runner reluctant "buddy" team-up with Gosling's Officer K.

Official Synopsis
Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30 years.

As setup for this sequel movie, director Denis Villeneuve commissioned three different shorts to "fill in the gaps" between 2019 to 2049. Two of these are live-action shorts directed by Luke Scott, son of Ridley Scott, while the third is an anime short directed by Shinichirô Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). Here they are in chronological order:

Year 2022: Black Out

A major incident involving Nexus-8 Replicants leading to replicant prohibition. 

Year 2036: Nexus Dawn

Introducing the Nexus-9 Replicants, the "perfect" model, created by Niander Wallace played by Jared Leto (Suicide Squad).

Year 2048: Nowhere to Run
 

Leading up directly to events in the forthcoming movie by introducing Sapper played by Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy). 

Not much more of the story is known so far but let us meet the characters who be involved with the new mystery:

Officer K (Ryan Gosling): A new Blade Runner for the LAPD. He is about to uncover a secret that may lead humanity into chaos.

Listen to BFM's At the Movies interview with Ryan Rosling recently in Los Angeles:

Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford): The original Blade Runner from the first movie makes his return after being in hiding for more than 30 years. Will Blade Runner 2049 reveal the secret of Deckard is really a human or a replicant?

Niander Wallace (Jared Leto): The blind CEO of Wallace Corporation. He tries to lift the ban of replicants by creating the latest Nexus-9 models, which he claimed they are fully obedient and will not hurt any humans at all.  

Luv (Sylvia Hoeks): A new Nexus-9 replicant devoted to Niander.

Joi (Ana De Armas): K's love interest and also confidante.

Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright): K's superior and a lieutenant in the LAPD.

Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista): A suspected replicant.

Blade Runner 2049 will be opening in nationwide cinemas in Malaysia on 5 October 2017. Note the movie is rated 18+, so no children are allowed. Critics has been praising the film and some are calling it the best movie so far of 2017.

Check out our Geek Recon movie review for Blade Runner 2049 byour resident Vulcan Mr. Smock and special guest Vincent Wong, an expert in the world of Blade Runner:

For more local opinions, read this review by Star2.com.

Thanks for Sony Pictures Malaysia, our Outpost Commander was able to attend the Malaysian Movie Premiere for Blade Runner 2049 at MBO Cinemas Sterling Mall. Specially built for this occasion was an event set piece inspired from the dark future of Blade Runner. Guests were treated to drinks and refreshments in a mock-up of Los Angeles. Check this walk-through below for a glimpse into this alternative future:

A walk-through of Los Angeles in the dystopian future of Blade Runner.

Enter the future of Los Angeles in the year 2049. Thankfully it's not raining!

Thanks for pointing those out, but where's the Johnny Walker?

Read more about the official partnership between Blade Runner and Johnny Walker from The Hyped Geek.

OK found the Johnny Walker at this future food canteen.

Fashion from the futuristic. Perhaps we will keep our fashion sense in the present for now.

Event host offering Blade Runner movie merchandises to guests via trivia quiz.

Collectors who feel the urge to bring home a piece of Blade Runner, sadly there isn't much movie merchandise available for Blade Runner. But the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has managed to find some cutesy Funko POP figurine bobbleheads for Blade Runner 2049 (because Funko just about makes figurines for every existing geek property in existance!). The set of 6 figurines comprise of Officer K, (old) Deckard, Joi, Sapper, Luv and Wallace. You can try to contact local Funko distributor Sheldonet Toy Store Malaysia the availability of the figures.  

Above from left to right: Officer K, Deckard and Joi
Below from left to right: Sapper, Luv and Wallace

As for contest giveaways, GSC customers stand a chance to win a Sony Playstation 4 Slim 500GB with a VR headset! Participate by purchasing two D-box Atmos tickets of Blade Runner 2049 to be in the running for this Grand Prize. Contest starts from 5th October until 19th October 2017. Get further information with terms and conditions at the GSC website here.

Sony Pictures Malaysia also added an online competition via their Facebook Page soliciting the best answers to the quesion "Would you rather be a Blade Runner or a replicant?".  To participate, comment on their Facebook post here.

Blade Runner 2049 is now in cinemas nationwide. Please note that this movie is rated for 18 and above only.

Disclaimer: Blade Runner and other trademarks are copyright to Warner Bros Pictures and Columbia Pictures, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Will the origins of Xenomorphs be finally revealed in Alien: Covenant?

Fans of the Alien movie franchise will get to rejoice next week with the return of the classic Xenomorph and Facehuggers in Alien: Covenant. Although they were much anticipated during release of the preceding movie, Prometheus (2012), neither were actually featured to the disappointment of fans who were instead treated to a number of new alien monstrosities. This time there is no mistaking return the Xenomorph is it distinctly featured in movie trailers and other promotional materials.

Alien: Covenant is the sixth movie in this billion dollar sci-fi franchise and second in a series of planned prequels. Beginning 38 years ago in 1979 with Alien, acclaimed director Ridley Scott returns to the helm once again and promises to bring back the cinematic terror of sci-fi horror that was invented by the original masterpiece. Although Alien: Covenant is intended to be R-rated with barrels of claret (fake blood) flowing, Scott will also be further exploring the universe that inhibits his films through the search for mankind's progenitors (in Prometheus) and now the origins of the Xenomorphs (in Covenant, hopefully!).

Before joining the crew of the Covenant on their journey, let us briefly recap of the previous five movies according to timeline of the Alien universe: 

Ridley Scott returned to direct this first prequel movie to the saga in 2012 after a 3 decade hiatus from the original Alien in 1979. Prometheus begins in 2089 with the discovery of star map amongst ancient hieroglyphs on Earth. This sets off an expedition team four years later aboard the starship Prometheus to a mysterious planet LV-223 in search of mankind's origins. Needless to say their discovery of the "Engineers", a giant humanoid race, was far from amicable resulting in destruction of the Prometheus and most of her crew. With more questions than answers, the survivors Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and synthetic android David  (Michael Fassbender),  depart LV-223 on an alien spacecraft journeying to the "Engineers" homeworld, setting up the scene for Alien: Covenant.

Check out this official prologue video linking these two prequel movies:

10 years after the doomed Prometheus expedition, its surviving crew Elizabeth Shaw and the synthetic David continue their journey to discover our origins. Watch The Crossing, an official prologue short for #AlienCovenantMY in cinemas 10 May, with special sneaks 9 May
Posted by 20th Century Fox on Friday, 28 April 2017

P.S.: No Xenomorphs.

Official Synopsis:

Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

Alien: Covenant takes place 10 years after the events of Prometheus. As a colony ship on a mission to spread mankind across the galaxy, crew of the Covenant comprise couples: Captain Jacob (James Franco) and his wife, Daniels, head of terraforming operations (Katherine Waterston); second-in-command Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) and his biologist wife Karine (Carmen Ejogo); boisterous pilots Tennessee (Danny McBride) and Faris (Amy Seimetz); head of security Sergeant Lope (Demián Bichir) and his second-in-command and husband Sergeant Hallett (Nathaniel Dean). Plus one Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Walter (Michael Fassbender again), a more advanced version of David upgraded by AMD technology(!) to better serve real humans. Indeed reserve your very own Walter at MeetWalter.com and check out the video on YouTube.

Bridge crew of the Covenant. Choose your likely survivors?

As can be seen from the trailers, the mission pretty much goes to hell shortly after planetfall and becomes a full-on gore-fest with the Covenant's crew being eliminated by the classic Facehugger and Xenomorph as well as a new creature dubbed the Neomorph. Following in the footsteps of strong female leads, we can almost expect Katherine Waterston's Daniels to resist being alien-kill for most of the movie. But don't count on her returning for the sequel as Noomi Rapace's Shaw is clearly not returning for this movie unlike Ripley in the original Alien Quadrilogy.

Will director Ridley Scott finally reveal origins of the Xenomorphs?

Whilst Prometheus delved into mankind's origins from outer space, this time director Ridley Scott aims to finally address origins of the Xenomorph. Make what you will of Scott's cryptic statement: “It came to me that no one had asked the question, who made this and why. You could say monsters from outer space, gods from outer space, engineers from outer space invented it. They didn’t. Alien: Covenant's going to flip that around.” Speculation is rife across geek channels on what this actually means. Just search Google and YouTube for numerous fan theories.

Alien: The mother of sci-fi horror movies was unleashed in 1979 hot on the heels of Star Wars frenzy. Set around 30 to 60 years after the first prequel movie, Prometheus, this story revolves around crew of the commercial starship Nostromo who, on the way back to Earth, responds to a mysterious transmission from planet LV-426. During investigation planetside, one of the crew is impregnated with an alien creature and gives birth to the first Xenomorph seen in cinemas to terrify movie audiences for years to come. Most of the crew die save Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in the role which defines much of her future career.

Director Ridley Scott said he always thought of Alien as a B-movie, but really well done, with a basic subtext of seven people locked in the old dark house and who’s going to die first and who’s going to survive. Pretty much the same subtext carries over in the sequels although the specific environments change and Xenomorphs evolve to keep each movie fresh.

This Time It's War! So goes the tag-line for the first sequel movie Aliens helmed by award-winning director James Cameron in 1986. Taking place 57 years later in the Alien timeline, Ellen Ripley returns of LV-426 with a team of bad@$$ marines to investigate loss of communications with the colony. Battles ensue between the marines and hordes of Xenomorphs, climaxing with a showdown between Ripley and an Alien Queen. No cookies for guessing who walks away as the victor!

The third official movie released in 1992 simply named Alien3 takes place shortly after the events in Aliens on the penal colony Fiorina "Fury" 161 where Ripley crash-lands. Whilst adapting to harsh conditions of the planet, Ripley soon discovers presence of a Xenomorph as prisoners are massacred one by one. Even worst she finds herself impregnated with an Alien Queen and in the end chooses to sacrific herself over allowing corporate suits from Weyland-Yutani to harvest the Xenomorph as a weapon.

Almost like superhero comic books, no good protagonist remains dead for long and Ripley is resurrected 200 years later on the United Space Military starship Auriga as part of an experiment to control Xenomorphs. As expected, that plan goes sour way fast as Xenomorphs escape and overrun the starship. Ripley then teams up with a band of mercenaries to escape the Auriga.

If you have not yet seen these movies, consider saving yourself 10 hours by watching this 5 minute summary before watching Alien: Covenant:

To celebrate the franchise, Alien Day took place last week on 26 April (as numbers of LV-426 by month & year) with a special 1-hour event broadcast live online from Fox Studios in Los Angeles. The event featured interviews with cast members of Alien: Covenant, live art drawings, and peaks into the upcoming movie including the aforementioned Prologue. Watch the entire event below as well as behind-the-scenes with Adam Savage:

Special event for Alien Day 2017.

Adam Savage visits the film set of Alien: Covenant.

Some additional filming trivia: Exterior scenes on Alien: Covenant were shot in Milford Sound, New Zealand, one of the wettest places on our planet. This combination of rain and sheer rocky mountains shrouded in mist provided the otherworldly setting for the movie amidst being one of the top tourist attractions in the world. Here's comparison of the scene from the movie with a scenic photo by our Outpost Commander at Fiordland National Park:

Screen-cap from the trailer as crew of the Covenant discover a wheat field.

View of Fiordland valley along Te Anau - Milford Sound Highway on a clear day.
Compare those mountain ranges!

Just before heading into the cinemas, it would be worth your while to watch this 2nd Prologue introducing the main crew of the Covenant and setting up the scene for the new movie.

Also note Ridley Scott is already developing 2 more prequels with working title of the next one being Alien: Awakening. Perhaps we can expect this movie in a couple of years to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Alien in 2019.

Typically the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) will be providing intel on where to find movie stuffs locally. Thanks to the nice people at 20th Century Fox Malaysia, we have 8 pairs of Movie Premiere invites to Alien: Covenant for our readers as well as Movie Premiums.

Alien: Covenant Movie Premiere

Monday 8 May, 8.45pm

@ MBO Starling Mall
(Damansara Utama)

UPDATE 8 May: Movie Premiere Contest CLOSED.

Follow our newly launch Instagram channel Outpost MY for chance to win more Movie Premiums during the opening week of Alien: Covenant.

Up for grabs Alien: Covenant t-shirts, notebooks, bottle opener & cup.

Just follow these instructions below for a chance to win a pair of Movie Premiere Invites, an exclusive Alien Day mini-poster (above), face towel and a Movie Premium:

1. Like our Facebook Page, Outpost Productions, and this article post.

2. Share this Blog post on Facebook and/or Twitter (set your post privacy to Public)

3. Submit your personal details and answer 3 questions plus write creative caption in the online form below.

Make sure your entries reach us by Friday 5 May, 11.59pm and stay tuned to our Facebook Page for announcement of winners.

Terms and Conditions for Movie Premiere contest (CLOSED):

• Participation only for residents in Malaysia able to attend the Movie Premiere.
• Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
• Selection of winners will be based on answering all 3 questions correctly and our selection of the most creative captions.
• Winners will announced on our Facebook Page anytime after Saturday 6 March, 12pm. It is the winners' own responsibility to lookout for the announcement and respond accordingly to the redemption instructions given.
• Giveaways items to be collected in person at the Movie Premiere in MBO Starling on Monday 8 May between 8.00pm to 8.30pm. Winnings are forfeit if not collecting by 8.30pm.
• We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.

Alien: Covenant Twitter Contest

17-18 May 2017

Please give thanks to the folks from 20th Century Fox Malaysia as we have one final round of giveaways for you Alien fans. Follow us on Twitter at OutpostMY and retweet our contest post with caption on your rating of the movie out of 10 with a few keyword hashtags on why and ending with #OutpostGiveaway, e.g. 8/10 #Xenomorph #horror #gory #plottwist #MichaelFassbender #NewZealand #OutpostGiveaway. Contest closes Thursday 18 May, 11.59pm (Malaysian time).

Click here for our Contest Tweet

Win this tshirt and mini-poster from our Twitter contest.

Terms and Conditions for Twitter contest:

• Participation only for residents in Malaysia.
• To participate, Follow OutpostHolonet @OutpostMY on Twitter.
• Retweet the Contest Tweet (link above).
• In retweet add Comment with your rating of Alien Covenant our of 10, e.g. 9/10, and keyword hashtags on why, e.g. #Xenomorph #horror #gory #plottwist #MichaelFassbender
• End comments with hashtag #OutpostGiveaway
• All entries to be posted by Thursday 18 May, 11.59pm.
• Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
• Selected winner will be contacted by direct message on 19 May.
• Prize to be collected from Outpost stall at Sunway Pyramid, Blue Concourse on 20-21 May 2017 between 10am to 10pm.
• We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.

Disclaimer: Alien and other trademarks are copyright 20th Century Fox, referenced here for fan service engagements without intent to infringe.