Skyfall cinematographer signs on for Blade Runner 2

In a press release (via The Playlist), Alcon Entertainment have confirmed that cinematographer Roger Deakins will join director Denis Villeneuve on the hugely anticipated Blade Runner sequel.

Deakins - who has been nominated for 12 Oscars and is due to be awarded the Pierre Angénieux Excellens in Cinematography Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival - is probably best known for his work with the Coen brothers (Cannes 2015’s competition jury presidents), although shooting Skyfall shows he’s no slouch when it comes to blockbuster material.

Deakins and Villeneuve have previously collaborated on Prisoners - a film with a distinctly murky palette that added heaps to the atmosphere - as well as Cannes 2015 competition entry Sicario, which has scored very positive reviews.

Harrison Ford has been confirmed for a return as Rick Deckard (which will presumably bring decades of ambiguity and speculation to an end), and Ryan Gosling has been heavily rumoured for the lead role. The new film is written by Blade Runner co-writer Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, from an idea by Fancher and Ridley Scott.

Filming will commence in summer 2016, meaning we won’t see it until at least the following year.

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Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.