IMDb has put together a video that runs the latest trailer from Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 alongside scenes from Ridley Scott’s original film, showing that sequel is borrowing not only from the design and feel of the world, but its visuals as well.
Our first glimpses of the film have seen a world that looks incredibly familiar, from the moody dystopian atmosphere and haunting music, but IMDb’s mash-up shows that the attention to detail lines up visually, too. The positioning of the actors, as well as the camera’s motion, framing, and even its height seems to be a careful reconstruction of the original film, showing that the film’s creators are careful to replicate more than just the atmosphere and visual trappings of the world.
It’s hard to think of a movie with as great a visual legacy as Blade Runner, and Villeneuve’s sequel will have much to live up to when it hits theaters later this year.
It’s not entirely a copy, however. The Verge’s creative director James Bareham says that one thing he noticed is “that Ridley Scott’s cinematographer, Jordan Cronenweth, bounced light off water to get the shimmering effect in Tyrell's apartment in the original film. The lighting in the new Blade Runner seems to be softer, brighter, and more constant. There's more flickering, blinking neon in the original.” It’ll be interesting to see just how well Villeneuve’s film stacks up against Scott’s, and if it’ll have the same impact on filmmakers.
Blade Runner 2049 hits theaters on October 6th, 2017.