SCI-FI fans got their first glimpse of the much anticipated Blade Runner sequel this week with the release of a teaser trailer for the Denis Villeneuve-directed film.
Set 30 years after Ridley Scott's original movie, Blade Runner 2049 stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford – the latter reprising his role as rogue Replicant hunting LAPD 'Blade Runner' Rick Deckard, who eventually discovers that he may also be a genetically engineered synthetic.
We meet both in the teaser, which kicks off with a snippet of Ford's now iconic voice-over from the first film:
"Replicants are like any other machine; they're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem," Deckard intones, as Gosling's rookie Blade Runner Officer K roams the steam and neon-bathed midnight streets of future LA and a desert wasteland.
Eventually, the pair face-off in a crumbling apartment building.
"I had your job once: I was good at it," snarls a visibly aged Deckard (thus throwing the whole 'Deckard was a Replicant' theory into chaos) as he emerges from the gloom, instantly recognisable Blade Runner pistol pointed right at K.
"Things were simpler then," responds the younger model.
The brooding neo-noir tone of the Vangelis soundtracked two minute clip has pleased many Blade Runner die-hards, who have been hoping that Villeneuve (who's currently enjoying rave reviews for his current sci-fi flick, Arrival) will preserve the look and feel of Scott's much loved film.
We'll find out for sure in just under a year.
:: Blade Runner 2049 is scheduled for release in October 2017