Blade Runner 2 director Denis Villeneuve: 'It's not possible to live up to the original'

The filmmaker is more worried than long-time fans of Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic

The long-gestating sequel to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is something that naturally has fans of the sci-fi classic a little worried.

However, the fact it's beeing overseen by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve should abate those fears - his list of credits to date (Incendies, Enemy, Sicario) are all solid features that stand up upon multiple rewatches.

Despite this, Villeneuve - whose next film Arrival has been stunning critics at film festivals around the world - knows he has a big task on his hands.

"First of all, it's not possible to live up to the original," he stated to an audience at Venice Film Festival with refreshing assuredness. "It's Ridley Scott. It's one of the best sci-fi films, one of the best films in the past 50 years."

With his cast in place - Harrison Ford will return alongside a haul of newcomers including Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright and Jared Leto - and shooting taking place, it seems the Prisoners director is still fazed by the job.

"For me, what terrorises me right now is what I'm doing is taking Blade Runner and making it my own, and that is horrific... It’s still the same universe, we are still in the same dream, but it’s mine, so it’s like I have no idea how you people will react."

Don't worry, though - Villeneuve admitted this pales in comparison to his excitement of working on the project.

Mackenzie Davis (The Martian), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) will also star in the sequel that's being produced by Scott. It will be released October 2017.