Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto has declared that he would love the opportunity to return to the role ofBlade Runner 2049villain Niander Wallace for a prequel. The actor, who has already portrayed the character in a prequel once already in theBlade Runnershort film2036: Nexus Dawn, has now stated that he would relish the chance to bring Niander Wallace back for a feature-length story.
“You know, with every character I play, I don’t know if it’s because I work so intently and I tend to dig really deep and put a lot of time and energy into it, but when I’m done playing with them, done playing the parts, I do miss them a little bit. And you do all this work anyway, it would be kind of nice to go back and explore other [characters]. LikeNiander Wallacein Blade Runner, I would love to play that part again as a prequel or something. Even Albert Sparma [from The Little Things,] I think would be amazing to see in another movie, or a prequel, or something. You do all this work and then you’re done, so it is nice to revisit things.”
Following on fromdirector Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction masterpiece,Blade Runner, 2017’sBlade Runner 2049picks up thirty years later and follows Ryan Gosling as K, a Nexus-9 replicant “blade runner” who uncovers a secret that threatens to destabilize society and the course of civilization. In search of answers, K goes in search of a former blade runner who has been missing for three decades, Rick Deckard, played once again by Harrison Ford.
Leto’s Niander Wallace, Wallace Corporation CEO, sends his own replicant enforcer after K for his own nefarious purposes. The actor has become notorious in the industry for his unorthodox “method” preparation of his roles, andBlade Runner 2049was no different. In order to portray the blind Niander Wallace,Jared Letowore custom opaque contact lenses to render himself completely blind, something whichBlade Runner 2049director Denis Villeneuve described as “beautiful and powerful”.
“He entered the room, and he could not see at all,” Villeneuve said at the time. “He was walking with an assistant, very slowly. It was likeseeing Jesus walking into a temple. Everybody became super silent, and there was a kind of sacred moment. Everyone was in awe. It was so beautiful and powerful-I was moved to tears.”
Despite being a cinematic and cultural icon, the world ofBlade Runnerhas gone largely unexplored, and perhaps a prequel fronted by Leto would be the way to go. Villeneuve has previously revealed his passion for the franchise and desire to craft moreBlade Runnermovies saying, “I have two more ideas now that I would love to do. [And] Blade Runner could go on… we’ll see how this one goes.” So, the origin ofBlade Runner 2049’sNiander Wallace is certainly something that audiences could be sitting down to watch someday. Perhaps alongside a free giveaway of opaque contact lenses.
For now, Leto will have to satisfy his desire to return to previous roles withThe Snyder Cut, which sees the actor resurrect his version of theJokerlast seen in 2016’sSuicide Squad.The Snyder Cutis due for release on HBO Max in March 2021. This comes to us courtesy ofJake’s Takes.
