Following one of his biggest box-office failures, The Dog Stars, director Ridley Scott may be reconsidering his remarks about fellow filmmakers in recent years. Scott, a renowned figure in cinema, expressed his dissatisfaction with two sequels to his iconic films, Alien and Blade Runner. He referred to the latest installment, Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez, as “okay,” while describing Denis Villeneuve‘s Blade Runner 2049 as “too long.” Ironically, both Romulus and Blade Runner 2049 received critical acclaim, whereas only one of Scott’s films in the past five years — The Last Duel — has garnered unanimous praise. Notably, both Romulus and Blade Runner 2049 were more successful at the box office than any film directed by Scott since 2020, except for Gladiator II. However, the production cost of the Gladiator sequel was three times that of Romulus and approximately $100 million more than the follow-up to Blade Runner.

Released in 2017, Blade Runner 2049 is currently available for streaming on Paramount+ in the United States, but only for a limited time. The film starred Ryan Gosling, with Harrison Ford reprising his role from the original. The cast also featured Dave Bautista, Ana de Armas, and Robin Wright. Many critics believe that Blade Runner 2049 improved upon its predecessor; at the very least, it is regarded as one of the best sequels ever made. It currently holds a “Certified Fresh” score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus states, “Visually stunning and narratively satisfying, Blade Runner 2049 deepens and expands its predecessor’s story while standing as an impressive filmmaking achievement in its own right.”