BLADE RUNNER 2 Will Feature a Female Protagonist

It's great to see that Ridley Scott has found his way back to the sci-fi genre. He's made the incredibly epic looking film Prometheus, and he's revealed that he'll also be developing a sequel to Blade Runner. There's been a lot of talk surrounding Harrison Ford and if he'll return to the franchise, but as of right now nothing is set in stone. Scott reveals in a recent interview with The Daily Beast that the he has just started his first meetings for the movie. During the interview they get on the subject of why Scott likes using female protagonists, and he explains what draws him to them,

I’m used to very strong women because my mother was particularly strong, and my father was away all the time. My mother was a big part of bringing up three boys, so I was fully versed in the strength of a powerful woman, and accepted that as the status quo. I think there are a lot of men who feel they’re being emasculated by having the woman be in charge; I’ve never had that problem. All the relationships in my life have been with strong women, from childhood. The relationship I’ve had in my life for the past 30 years is with a very strong Costa Rican woman. Oddly enough, I find it quite engaging to be working with a female when I’m directing. It’s kind of interesting.

As the conversation continued he went on to tell a little story about how he ended up directing Thelma & Louise.

The evolution of taking the side of the woman, as far as my career’s concerned, is epitomized by Thelma & Louise. The budget was very slender—about $15 million—because nobody wanted to make it. I first came on as producer, and I was selling the notion to four or five male directors—this was made over 20 years ago, so there weren’t many female directors to do it—that the movie should be an epic about two women on their journey for freedom. One director who turned me down said, “I’ve got a problem with the women,” and I said, “Well you’re meant to, you dope!” So I thought that I should direct it myself.

When finally asked about the upcoming Blade Runner sequel he said,

Funny enough, I started my first meetings on the Blade Runner sequel last week. We have a very good take on it. And we’ll definitely be featuring a female protagonist.

I love Blade Runner, and it's exciting that the sequel is currently under development. I can't wait to see what they come up with, but with Scott leading the charge I have no doubts that it will be everything that fans want to see. What do you think about Scott wanting to use a female protagonist in this sci-fi noir world?