With Denis Villeneuve’s hotly anticipated sequel to the 1982 cult-classic Blade Runner out THIS WEEK, here are 5 ways you can prepare yourself for the main event…

1. Watch Blade Runner (The Final Cut)

Yeah, you could watch Blade Runner 2049 without having seen the original film but why on earth would you?

There are eight known iterations of Ridley Scott’s original 1982 film, with the ‘Theatrical Cut’ (1982), ‘Director’s Cut’ (1992) and ‘Final Cut’ (2007) the most prevalent. Really, all three should be watched – if you do have time – but ultimately The Final Cut remains the definitive. Remastered and the only cut that Scott had total, and unrestrained, control over, it’s a thing of beauty and is wonderfully free of voiceovers and happy endings.

2. Watch the sequel’s prequel shorts

With Blade Runner 2049 set some twenty years after the first film, we can only imagine the many events and incidents that have occurred between…except, three key moments from the interim have been released to whet fan appetites ahead of October 5.

That’s right, brand new Blade Runner films – including one in Anime – early and all right here!

Blade Runner 2049: Black Out 2022 (dir. Shinichirô Watanabe)

Blade Runner 2036: Nexus Dawn (dir. Luke Scott)

Blade Runner 2048: Nowhere to Run (dir. Luke Scott)

Blade Runner 2036: Nexus Dawn (dir. Luke Scott)

3. Make a paper unicorn

 

The significance of the origami unicorn has been the subject of a body of Blade Runner discussion so expansive that you could probably do a degree on the prop alone. What better way, then, to prepare for Blade Runner 2049 than making your very own paper unicorn to hold aloft as you watch the film for the very first time on the big screen?

 

4. Watch Mark Kermode’s documentary

Featuring then never before seen deleted scenes – and an astonishingly young-looking/sounding Mark Kermode – On the Edge of Blade Runner (Andrew Abbot, 2000) offers a fascinating and critically insightful look at the original film. It’s a wonderful watch, far too short at 50 minutes and available to watch now online:

 

5. Make your own ‘Blade Runner’ noodles…whilst re-watching Blade Runner (again!)

One classic scene to get you in the mood for Blade Runner 2049 is the original’s shot of Harrison Ford eating noodles in a dusty downtown LA when Deckard is arrested by Gaff (Edward James Olmos), to be brought in for his new job. Set the scene and get back in the zone by making up your own noodles and re-watching Blade Runner…yes, again!