Ridley Scott Says He ‘Should Have’ Directed Blade Runner 2049

In a new interview with Empire, Ridley Scott revealed that he regrets being forced to turn down the director position for the Blade Runner sequel. Because of scheduling conflicts with Alien: Covenant, he was asked to choose between the two films (the Alien franchise is released by 20th Century, Blade Runner by Warner Bros.), even though he had already helped devise the storyline and script for Blade Runner 2049.

“I shouldn’t have had to make that decision,” Scott said to Empire in a new interview. “But I had to. I should have done Blade Runner 2.” While Scott might not have directed 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 (that honor went to Denis Villeneuve), he certainly stayed busy. In between Alien: Covenant, Gladiator 2, and Napoleon, the director has had his plate full.

And despite having to give up the Blade Runner sequel, he’s back in the saddle for Blade Runner 2099, the upcoming (but delayed, like many projects at the moment) Prime Video series set in the Blade Runner universe. Scott said of the new show, “to me, it circles the idea of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.”

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

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