Jared Leto would love to revisit the universe of Blade Runner 2049 and reprise his role as Niander Wallace. Wallace was the CEO and founder of Wallace Corporation, the dominant replicant producer in the year 2049 in the film. Wallace is a genius in the film who, through his genetic research, helped solve a global food crisis. Through the fortune that brought him Wallace was able to lift the ban on replicant production and allowed him to buyout the Tyrell Corporation, the producer of replicants in the first film.
Blade Runner 2049 was released in 2017 to critical acclaim but, like its predecessor, failed to garner much interest at the box office. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film was praised for its expansion of the world established in the first film and the novels the films were based on. Unfortunately, because of its massive budget and marketing push, the film was largely seen as a failure, but garnered a cult following similar to the first film. There has been no word on a sequel, but Villeneuve has expressed interest in returning to the franchise.
Leto himself has now expressed interest in returning, too. In an interview with Jake's Takes, Leto says that he always dedicates himself to his characters, putting a lot of time and energy into understanding them psychologically to elicit the best performance possible. Leto says that this often results in him missing the characters he has played. The Joker actor goes on to say that he specifically misses the character of Niander Wallace and would love a chance to play him again.
You know, with every character I play, I don’t know if it’s because I work so intently and I tend to dig really deep and put a lot of time and energy into it, but when I’m done playing with them, done playing the parts, I do miss them a little bit. And you do all this work anyway, it would be kind of nice to go back and explore other [characters]. Like Niander Wallace in Blade Runner, I would love to play that part again as a prequel or something.
Leto's Wallace was an intriguing villain and the actor turned in a solid performance in the film. Still, Wallace's presence in the film is limited physically, but felt heavily throughout the film regardless. The film hinges on his plan to find out how to make replicants procreate, only furthering the god complex of his character. Wallace survives the end of the film, but his future is unknown. There is much to be mined from the character, if his backstory and appearances in prequel shorts and comics are any indication.
The chances of returning to the world of Blade Runner seem slim, though. Villeneuve is deep in the process of fleshing out his Dune franchise, set to kick off in October when the first film is released. If a third film were to be made, it would be a far way off and it would likely be a lower budget affair considering the losses that this new sequel took on. Still, anything is possible in this era of endless reboots and revivals, and Blade Runner 2049's fanbase is passionate enough to at least spur interest in a continuation of the hit cult franchise.
Source: Jake's Takes
