Let’s all weep for the Blade Runner remake that could have been. The AV Club reports, via the Metro UK, that Denis Villeneuve’s early plan for Blade Runner 2049 didn’t include the alien known as Jared Leto, but a rather sophisticated villain. The late David Bowie was the first pick for antagonist Neander Wallace.
“Our first thought [for the character] had been David Bowie, who had influenced Blade Runner in many ways,” Villeneuve said. But after Bowie’s death in January 2016, the film was left without its baddie. Suicide Squad star Leto apparently fit the filmmaker’s need for “someone like that.”
As for Blade Runner 2049 star Ryan Gosling, he was always first choice. “The part was written for Ryan right from the start. He was perfect.”
BRB sobbing into my coffee.