Jóhann Jóhannsson will score the forthcoming sequel to Blade Runner.
The Icelandic composer revealed the news in an interview with Iceland’s RÚV radio station. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who previously collaborated with Jóhannsson on 2015’s Oscar-nominated Sicario, the movie is set for release on October 6, 2017.
In a forthcoming interview with FACT, Jóhannsson revealed that creating a successor to Vangelis’ iconic score for the 1982 film would be “an enormous challenge of mythical proportions”.
“Vangelis is a composer that has been a huge influence on my own work, and not only the Blade Runner score – many of his solo albums have been a rich part of my life for a long time. What I love about his work, which I think is also present in my own work, is his sense of space – the way he uses space, the way he uses silences and this sense of monumentalism in a way.
“Vangelis is a huge influence on me as a composer, certainly in the early part of my career, so I have the deepest respect for him as a composer.”
Asked if he would consider revisiting Vangelis’ themes and motifs for his score, he said: “It’s too early to tell. Frankly, it’s just so early in the process that it’s really not a question I can answer right now.”
Look out for the full interview with Jóhannsson on FACT next week.
Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto are all confirmed to star in the movie. Plot details are scarce, though Villeneuve has said that the story will take place several decades after the original.
Jóhann Jóhannsson’s eagerly-awaited next album Orphée will be released by Deutsche Grammophon on September 16.
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