Blade Runneris often regarded as one of the best science fiction films ever made, and with good reason.Ridley Scottwas able to take the basic premise ofPhillip K. Dick’s"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and build an entire world from it — a world that still continues on inBlade Runner 2049, a line of comics, and TV shows, including the upcomingBlade Runner 2099. It’s even inspired othersci-fi movies likeRobocop. ButBlade Runneralso sparked a debate that rages to this day:IsHarrison Ford’s Rick Deckard a replicant?Scott seems to believe so, and even points to clues left within the film that might hint at Deckard’s true nature, but Ford himself has gone back and forth on the answer.
Blade Runner
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
‘Blade Runner’ Is Littered With Hints That Deckard Might Be a Replicant
The director’s cut and “Final Cut” ofBlade Runnerare whenBlade Runnerstarts to dropa number of clues that Deckard could be a replicant. He’s never able to answer if he ever took the Voight-Kampff test, which is able to detect behavior that only replicants are capable of. His fellow blade runner Gaff (Edward James Olmos) seems to have a barely veiled contempt for him, which is another tell since replicants are treated as little more than expendable labor. But the recurring element that suggests Deckard might be a replicant ishis recurring dreams of a unicorn; replicants have no dreams of their own and often rely on others to implant memories for them, hence Dick’s story being titled “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep?” After his confrontation with Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Deckard returns to his apartment andfinds an origami unicornleft there by Gaff which suggests that he is a replicant. The film never explicitly states if Deckard is a replicant or human; rather, it decides to leave it in the audience’s hands.
The Cast and Crew of ‘Blade Runner’ Remain Split on Whether Deckard’s a Replicant
Over the years,Ford and Scott have given their reasons as to why they believe Deckard is or isn’t a replicant. Ford believed making Deckard human gave the film a protagonist that audiences would connect to, and said as muchduring an interview. “That was the main area of contention between Ridley and myself at the time…I thought the audiencedeservedone human being on-screen that they could establish an emotional relationship with. IthoughtI had won Ridley’s agreement to that, but in fact I think he had a little reservation about that. I think he really wanted to have it both ways.” Scott had a more direct answer in an interview withIGN:
“…I remember someone had said, ‘Well, isn’t it corny?’ I said, ‘Listen, I’ll be the best f#@king judge of that. I’m the director, okay?’ So, and that, you learn – you know, by then I’m 44, so I’m no f#@king chicken. I’m a very experienced director from commercials andThe DuellistsandAlien. So, I’m able to, you know, answer that with confidence at the time, and say, ‘You know, back off, it’s what it’s gonna be.'”
Other crew members also remain divided on the issue, including screenwriterHampton Fancher, who ultimately said thathe prefers the film to have some ambiguity. But it’s Phillip K. Dick who may have had the last word, as “Do Androids of Electric Sheep?“confirms that Deckard is a human. It does so by having him take the Voight-Kampff test and pass.Dick expanded upon this choicein an interview, saying “The purpose of this story as I saw it was that in his job of hunting and killing these replicants, Deckard becomes progressively dehumanized. At the same time, the replicants are being perceived as becoming more human.”
‘Blade Runner 2049’ Complicates the Replicant Question
Those hoping thatBlade Runner 2049would answer the “Is Deckard a replicant?” question will have to keep asking it. Though Ford reprises his role,2049isn’t interested in answering that question. Rather, it reveals thatDeckard had fathered a child with Rachael, leading CEO Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) to hunt down the child so he can have an unending source of labor via replicants giving birth. Deckard is joined by Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a replicant programmed to be a Blade Runner, who grows to believe that he is Deckard’s child.
Like the originalBlade Runner,2049inserts elements to make the audience believe that K is Deckard’s son: the child Wallace is looking for is apparently a boy, and he has dreams of a toy horse despite being a replicant. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) is Deckard’s child; she had implanted her memories into K to keep her identity a secret. Ironically,2049’s directorDenis Villeneuveconfirmed that Scott and Ford were still debating about Deckard’s true identity. “Harrison and Ridley are still arguing about that. If you put them in the same room, they don’t agree. And they start to talk very loud when they do. It’s very funny,” he toldCinemaBlend. It looks like this is one cinematic mystery that will remain unanswered.
Blade Runneris available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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