Blade Runner 2049: One original film cast member is not happy with sequel

Veteran Danish actor Rutger Hauer, who appeared in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, believes its sequel was not "necessary".

Hauer played replicant Roy Batty in the 1982 sci-fi original and said the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel, Blade Runner 2049, was not "character-driven".

"I sniff and scratch at it. It looks great but I struggle to see why that film was necessary. I just think if something is so beautiful, you should just leave it alone and make another film. Don't lean with one elbow on the success that was earned over 30 years in the underground," Hauer told The Hollywood Reporter.

"In many ways, Blade Runner wasn't about the replicants, it was about what does it mean to be human? It's like E.T. But I'm not certain what the question was in the second Blade Runner. It's not a character-driven movie and there's no humour, there's no love, there's no soul," he added.

Hauer is known to have written Tears in the Rain for the Blade Runner, which he also enacts in the film. It was one of the reasons why the film got the cult status.

Blade Runner 2049 starred Ryan Gosling in the lead with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard.

The film has been nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography.