'Blade Runner 2049' release date, news: director Denis Villeneuve talks about the first film's legacy

After directing critically acclaimed films like "Incendies," "Sicario," "Prisoners" and "Arrival," most people would assume that "Blade Runner 2049" would be just another film on director Denis Villeneuve's plate.

But in an interview with Empire, he revealed that the film means so much more to him and the creative team behind it.

"I'm having the time of my life on this, but it's insane for sure. Because it is so insane, it gives you freedom. A lot of people on this [film] are children of Blade Runner, raised with the imagination and energy of the original, and have been inspired by those images all our lives," he stated.

The original film's neo-noir style has definitely influenced a generation of filmmakers, video game developers and animators, there's no doubt about that. Making a sequel for "Blade Runner" is a huge undertaking, but Villeneuve is ready to take on the responsibility of making a sequel that can please the film's fan base, and also gain new fans at the same time.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest mysteries in the first "Blade Runner" will not be answered in "Blade Runner 2049." In an interview with French film site Allocine (via Slash Film) last month, Villeneuve confirmed that Rick Deckard's (Harrison Ford) humanity would not be answered in the upcoming film.

He also told Entertainment Weekly that he went to dinner with Ford and Ridley Scott earlier this year in Budapest, and he found out that, after all these years, they were still arguing whether Deckard was a human or a replicant.

"It was very funny, I must say, to find myself in the literal crossfire of Harrison and Ridley, arguing as to why Deckard should be a replicant and why he should be human," he said.

Scott believed that Deckard was a replicant, but Ford adamantly insisted that his character was human.

"Bladerunner 2049" is scheduled to premiere on Oct. 6, 2017.