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Blade Runner Sequel (2017) Concept Art

Johann Johannsson to score 'Blade Runner' sequel

Blade Runner Sequel (2017) Concept Art (via EW)
Blade Runner Sequel Concept Art (via EW)

With details about the upcoming Blade Runner sequel (due out October 2017) still frustratingly hard to come by, the project’s second-biggest mystery (no, not that one) has concerned the question of who would be entrusted to compose a worthy follow-up to the first film’s hauntingly perfect Vangelis synth score. Now we have an answer: Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (who previously worked with sequel director Denis Villeneuve on 2015’s Sicario and won acclaim for his score to 2014’s The Theory of Everything) has been tapped for the job. Describing the task as “an enormous challenge of mythical proportions”, he talked to Fact about his debt to Vangelis:

“Vangelis is a composer that has been a huge influence on my own work, and not only the Blade Runner score – many of his solo albums have been a rich part of my life for a long time. What I love about his work, which I think is also present in my own work, is his sense of space – the way he uses space, the way he uses silences and this sense of monumentalism in a way. […] Vangelis is a huge influence on me as a composer, certainly in the early part of my career, so I have the deepest respect for him as a composer.”

Asked if he would consider revisiting musical themes from the original film, he said, “It’s too early to tell. Frankly, it’s just so early in the process that it’s really not a question I can answer right now.”

Earlier this summer, Jóhannson announced his first solo album in six years, Orphee, due out September 16. In addition, he’ll be touring the US and Europe, including an NYC show at Brooklyn’s Cathedral of St. Joseph on October 23 (tickets). Check out the video for Orphee single “Flight from the City.”

Incidentally, Vangelis just announced his new studio album Rosetta, due out September 23. Revisit some of his original Blade Runner soundtrack below. Think Jóhannsson will be up to the task? We sure hope so.