Harrison Ford being wooed to return in ‘Blade Runner’ sequel

Does Harrison Ford dream of a “Blade Runner” sequel? The filmmakers behind a follow-up to the landmark 1982 sci-fi movie hope so.

Alcon Entertainment has an offer out to Ford to reprise his role as the world-weary android hunter Rick Deckard in an upcoming movie, Alcon chiefs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson announced Thursday.

The “Blade Runner” sequel will be directed by Ridley Scott, who helmed the original film, from a script by Hampton Fancher (who co-wrote the original) and Michael Green.

Adapted from the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” the original “Blade Runner” told the story of a gruff retired cop (Ford) enlisted to hunt down and “retire” (that is, kill) a group of replicants (androids indistinguishable from humans) on the loose in futuristic Los Angeles. Though the movie was not a commercial success upon release, it has come to be considered a sci-fi classic.

“We believe that Hampton Fancher and Michael Green have crafted with Ridley Scott an extraordinary sequel to one of the greatest films of all time,” Johnson and Kosove said in a statement. “We would be honored, and we are hopeful, that Harrison will be part of our project.”

It is rather unusual for a film company to announce publicly that it’s going after a specific actor for a movie. Alcon might be hoping that public opinion could sway Ford into coming aboard; the company could also be hedging its bet by signaling to fervent “Blade Runner” fans that it’s trying to stay true to the original.

Ford is about to start shooting “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and the fact that he was willing to reprise one of his classic roles (Han Solo) could bode well for the “Blade Runner” sequel. Then again, he might decide that one blast from the past is enough.