‘Blade Runner 2’ Adds ‘The Walking Dead’ Star Lennie James
The jury is still out on whether or not a sequel toBlade Runneris a good idea in the first place, but I’ll say this much: directorDenis Villeneuvehas been assembling a cast that certainly makes it look like a good idea. The latest actor to join the increasingly large ensemble is British character actorLennie James, best known to audiences for playing Morgan Jones on AMC’sThe Walking Dead.
Although his role on that ever-popular zombie drama has made him known to much larger audience, James has been acting steadily since the ’90s, appearing in films likeSnatch,24 Hour Party People,Lost in Space,Sahara, andGet on Up. More recently, he’s become a familiar face on the small screen, taking on roles inCritical,Hung,Low Winter Sun,Line of Duty,Human Target,JerichoandLie to Me. He’s very much a working actor, the kind of guy who’s been in good stuff and terrible stuff but always delivers a fine performance. Even whenThe Walking Deadstumbles (and few shows stumble quite as often asThe Walking Deadstumbles), you’ll never find him phoning in his performance.
James joins a cast that already includesHarrison Ford, returning to the role of Replicant-hunting detective Rick Deckard, andRyan Gosling, playing the mysterious second lead of the the film. Plot details remains tightly guarded, but we do know that it will take place decades after the events of the first film, which was released in 1982 but took place in a dark and dystopian Los Angeles circa 2019 (wow, things really are going to get bad in a few years). The supporting castincludes the greatRobin Wright,Guardians of the GalaxystarDave Bautista,Knock KnockstarAna de Armas,Dutch actressSylvia Hoeks,WetlandsstarCarla Juri,The MartianstarMackenzie Davis,Captain PhillipsstarBarkhad Abdi,The Dark KnightstarDavid Dastmalchian, andMunichstarHiam Abbass.
In other words, James is in very good company, surrounded by a promising collection of newcomers and veterans. The big question now: is he playing a human or a Replicant or a Replicant who thinks he’s a human?
Blade Runner 2, or rather The UntitledBlade RunnerSequel, is set for anOctober 6, 2017release date. The film reunites Villeneuve with legendary cinematographerRoger Deakins(who was nominated for an Oscar for shooting Villeneuve’sSicario), so at least we know this stellar cast is going to look very, very pretty on screen.
