Blade Runner 2 is coming back with Harrison Ford

Blade Runner isn't just one of the finest sci-fi movies in existence – its gritty, neon-lit noir vision can be spotted in the work of directors such as Christopher Nolan and Nicolas Winding Refn. So it's kind of an understatement to say that film fans are pretty excited about the sequel to the cult film. Now they've got even more reason to be: Harrison Ford will reprise his lead role as android bounty hunter Rick Deckard. Oscar-nominated director Denis Villeneuve will replace Ridley Scott in the director's chair.

The sequel takes place several decades after the first movie, with filming set to begin in the summer of 2016. The original co-writer of Blade Runner, Hampton Fancher, came up with the plot with Ridley Scott. The screenplay is penned by Fancher and Michael Green, who wrote the superhero film Green Lantern.

Ford is reportedly over the moon with the new script. "I sent him this (screenplay) and he said, 'Wow, this is the best thing I’ve ever read,' so it’s very relevant to what happened (in) the first one," Scott told MTV News.

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film with 2010's Incendies. He last directed Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2013 thriller Prisoners, which drew praise for its bold, haunting take on the standard "detective versus serial killer" cinematic trope.

Alcon Entertainment producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson announced Harrison and Villeneuve's roles in a statement: "We are honoured that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve, who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners."

"Hampton and Michael, with Ridley Scott, have crafted a uniquely potent and faithful sequel to one of the most universally celebrated films of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this amazing, creative team.”