The Blade Runner sequel is happening, and now it even has a release date: January 12th, 2018. The North American release date was announced this morning, a few months ahead of the production's planned start date. Shooting is scheduled to begin in July, with Denis Villeneuve — of the well received Sicario — directing based on a script by Hampton Fancher, with story ideas coming from original film director Ridley Scott. The sequel is supposed to pick up several decades after the original. Ryan Gosling will star, but given that Harrison Ford is also on board to reprise his role as Deckard, this sequel will necessarily shed some light on the original's ending.