Blade Runner is one of the seminal works of the veteran filmmaker Ridley Scott. However, the veteran handed the mantle to director Denis Villeneuve to helm the sequel following a scheduling conflict with 2017's Alien: Covenant. Reflecting on that decision, Ridley Scott has opined that he should have done the sequel. 

In a recent interaction with Empire magazine, the veteran director said, "I shouldn't have had to make that decision. But I had to. I should have done Blade Runner 2."

After being attached to the project, Scott announced in 2014 that he would no longer direct the Blade Runner sequel, instead choosing to helm the sci-fi horror film Alien: Covenant, starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride.

Although Scott didn't direct the sequel to the original Blade Runner, the filmmaker worked as an executive producer on the film. He is also returning to the future dystopia in Amazon Prime Video's upcoming limited series Blade Runner 2099', which he first revealed was in development in 2021.