Jared Leto to join Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford in 'Blade Runner' Sequel

Image from Variety

By Darian Scalamoni

            There was a lot of backlash surrounding the upcoming Blade Runner sequel but due to the cast that is being assembled, it seems that those negative mumbles have gone silent after adding Ryan Gosling to the franchise and having Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario) step up to direct the sequel to the 80s cult classic. In addition to Gosling and the return of Harrison Ford, Collider is reporting that Jared Leto will join the film in a “key role”.

            Leto is an interesting but great choice to join this franchise as he brings his A-game no matter what the project is. The actor and lead singer of the band, 30 Seconds to Mars recently just turned in a highly anticipated performance as The Joker in the DC film, Suicide Squad. This is also more interesting due to the fact that Leto is very much a method actor and is fairly picky in choosing his projects. Before portraying The Joker, he was last seen in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club in which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for portraying the AIDS-riddled transgender person named Rayon.

            The original Blade Runner film was directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, The Martian) but now is serving as an executive producer on the currently untitled sequel to the 1982 film. Along with Gosling and Ford, Leto joins a cast that also includes Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, Mackenzie Davis, Barkhad Abdi, Lennie James and Dave Bautista. The follow-up is expected to be released on October 6^th, 2017.