Harrison Ford's 'Blade Runner' Sequel with Ryan Gosling Begins Shooting This Summer

Two generations of exciting actors officially unite for a Ridley Scott sequel. Harrison Ford, who played Rick Deckard in the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, will be reprising his role alongside Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling. The film, which will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, begins shooting this summer for a 2017 premiere.

After months of rumors regarding Ford's comeback to one of his most iconic roles, now Deadline reports that the sequel has been greenlit and will begin shooting in July, for what looks like a 2017 release date.

Production delay happened as different studios settled on domestic and international distributing rights, with Sony Pictures, Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. in the mix. Ultimately, the deal goes like this: Warner will be distributing the film in North America, while Sony will do the honors in the rest of the world.

"We are deeply grateful to everyone at Alcon, Denis and Ridley for entrusting us with such a gift," said Tom Rothman, current Sony Pictures Chairman, in a statement. "Working on a Blade Runner film also fulfills a long-time personal ambition, as I deeply love and admire the original."

According to Variety, Hampton Fancher, original Blade Runner co-writer, came up with the film's concept alongside Scott, then penning the sequel's screenplay alongside Michael Green, who also co-wrote the screenplay for another upcoming sequel to Scott's works, Alien: Covenant.

The original 1982 film was a loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's classic short story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

So far, little is known about the sequel. For now, it's known that this movie will be set decades after the first one ended, but that's about it. It's even unclear what exactly Gosling's role will be. Interestingly enough, however, this will be Ford's second time returning to an old role in the past few years. Last year, he reprised his role as Han Solo in J.J. Abrams' madly successful sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens.