Join the Mythgard Movie Club on March 14, 2019, at 8:30pm ET for a discussion of Blade Runner 2049. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, the film is a sequel to the original Blade Runner (1982) and stars Ryan Gosling as K, a “blade runner” who hunts rogue replicants, and Harrison Ford in a reprisal of his role as Richard Deckard.
Likes its predecessor, Blade Runner 2049 is considered a something of a commercial failure, despite bringing in more than $250 million worldwide at the box office, due to high production and marketing costs and lower-than-expected attendance. Nonetheless, many critics praised the film highly, citing the film’s visual elements, “satisfying” narrative, and faithfulness to the original story. In particular, a number of critics commend Villenueve and his team for building on themes from the first film, rather than simply rehashing them – which is one reason why we are excited to discuss this film back-to-back with its predecessor, something we have not yet done in the Mythgard Movie Club. Blade Runner 2049 was nominated for more than 100 different awards, winning the Academy Awards for both Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects; the BAFTA awards for the same categories; and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, among others.
Given that the film is less than two years old at the time we will be discussing it, its long-term impact remains to be seen. Ridley Scott, who produced the sequel and claims to have written much of the script uncredited, says that he has a story in mind for a third Blade Runner film, and Fancher has also expressed interest in writing more replicant stories. However, the poor box office performance of Blade Runner 2049 may put a damper on plans for any future stories, regardless of critical accolades.
Blade Runner 2049 is available for purchase at Amazon and other retailers. It is also available digitally from YouTube, Google Play and Vudu.
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About the Panelists
Kris Swank is a Preceptor at Signum University and Library Director at Pima Community College–Northwest Campus, Tucson, Arizona. She holds a BA, summa cum laude, Humanities and English, Dana College, a Master of Library Science, University of Arizona, and an MBA in International Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management. In 2014, she completed the MA in Literature and Languages program at Signum University with a concentration in Tolkien Studies and is currently pursuing a PhD in Tolkien Studies at Cardiff Metropolitan University with Dr. Dimitra Fimi.
Dominic Nardi is a political scientist who focuses on judicial politics in Indonesia. He worked as a consultant throughout Southeast Asia. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and JD from Georgetown University. In addition, he has published articles about politics in Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. You can find more of his writing at NardiViews.
Curtis Weyant is a Signum Grad School alumnus who rarely remembers his dreams, whether of electric sheep or otherwise, which gets him into trouble more than one would think likely. A digital marketer by trade, Curtis co-hosts the weekly podcast Kat & Curt’s TV Re-View, thanklessly edits Laserflail, and totally does not have a partial manuscript about a dark, dystopian future with homicidal androids anywhere in his Google Drive.
Kat Sas holds an MA in Language & Literature from Signum University, where she concentrated in Imaginative Literature. She hosts a weekly podcast on speculative television at Kat & Curt’s TV Re-View, and she blogs about Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and other shows on her blog, Raving Sanity.
