Harrison Ford will return to his role as Rick Deckard in the sequel to Blade Runner, and Denis Villeneuve is in negotiations to direct, according to Deadline.  Velleneuve is best known for 2013’s Prisoners, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, and Viola Davis.

The story idea was by Ridley Scott, who directed the original film and will exec produce the sequel, and Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original, which was based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick.  The script is by Fancher and Michael Green (Green Lantern, Gotham pilot); it tells a story several decades after the period in the 1982 original.

Shooting is scheduled to start in the summer of 2016.

Scott is exec producing for Alcon Entertainment, which acquired the rights and began developing this film in 2011 (see "Ridley Scott to Help New 'Blade Runner' Movie").  Scott quickly began moving toward a sequel as the story idea (see "'Blade Runner' Will Be Sequel").