Warner Bros. has confirmed that the "Blade Runner" sequel is coming to the big screen on Jan. 12, 2018. Harrison Ford will be back to reprise his role as Rick Deckard and, this time, Ryan Gosling is joining him.

The studio has tapped Denis Villeneuve to direct the new movie, while Hampton Fancher and Michael Green are the scribes behind the screenplay. Fancher also wrote the 1982 film release, which had Ridley Scott as its director.

Although Scott is not sitting on the director's chair for this upcoming version, he did have a hand in developing the sequel, and he's also one of the producers of the movie. Back in Sept. 2015, Scott was asked about his participation in creating the new movie and he confirmed ringing up Fancher to talk about their ideas.

"This was one of the writers I had the best experience with, on the original "Blade Runner," meeting him every day, polishing the script," Scott said. "The new one, we've got a very good director in Denis Villeneuve. He has taken my script, from Hampton and Michael Green, and that's what he'll make."

Scott also said that he cannot direct "Blade Runner 2" because of his commitments with "Prometheus."

While plot details of the movie are still vague, it is believed that the story will happen "several decades" following the original timeline. The first "Blade Runner" was set in 2019 in dystopian Los Angeles.

Ford's Deckard was a police officer or a "blade runner" whose job is to arrest and kill androids called the "replicants" as some have illegally arrived on Earth. The early movie was based on the novel written by Philip K. Dick called "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

"Blade Runner" received several nominations and awards during the year it was released, including Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. However, it received mild box office reception as its biggest competition at the time was Steven Spielberg's "E.T."

Meanwhile, production for "Blade Runner 2" begins in July with cinematographer Roger Deakins for the principal photography. Sony Pictures Releasing International is handling the film's distribution overseas.

Alcon Entertainment owns the license to "Blade Runner" and it was initially planned that the film will spawn a TV show or Web series apart from the sequel. However, there has been no more updates about the projects.