It’s a given that the Blade Runner sequel nobody asked for is going to look great—it’s shot by Roger Deakins, probably the best cinematographer working today, and directed by Denis Villeneuve, who has a stunning ability to tell visual stories. But today comes news that Blade Runner 2049 is also going to sound great, with Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch joining already on-board composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. (Original Blade Runner composer Vangelis wasn’t asked to return, though 2049 leans on him hard in the trailers.)
Jóhannsson has a long history of working with Villeneuve (in retrospect, his score for Arrival is one of the more remarkable things about that already remarkable film), Zimmer’s the go-to guy for hammering your eardrums into submission (though his work in Dunkirk is nothing short of fantastic), and I’ve seen a few movies Wallfisch did the scores for but… don’t remember the music from any of them? Regardless: Zimmer and Jóhannsson working on the same project is gonna be… interesting. I’ve got no clue what that’s gonna sound like, but I want to hear it.
Of course, even if it looks great and sounds great, Blade Runner 2049 could still end up being a cinematic travesty. (Every time someone opens their mouth in that latest trailer—especially Jared Leto—things get a bit worrisome.) Even if you’re a super-talented director who’s assembled an excellent cast and crew, making a worthy sequel to one of the best and most influential science-fiction films of the past four decades is a pretty tall order. Just ask Ridley Scott.
