20 Movies That Took HUGE Risks (And NAILED It)

20. No Harrison Ford Until The Third Act - Blade Runner 2049

Even though the marketing for Blade Runner 2049 made it clear that Harrison Ford would only be reprising his role of Deckard in a supporting capacity, it was still expected that he'd appear early and often throughout the belated sci-fi sequel.

But ultimately Ford doesn't show his face for 105 minutes, roughly two-thirds of the way through the film's runtime, when protagonist K (Ryan Gosling) finally tracks him down in the ruins of Las Vegas.

And yet, the film is so engrossing up to this point, and the third act serves as such a fitting capper to Deckard's story, that it's tough to begrudge the decision at all.

Compare this to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - another legacy sequel released around the same time which spent so much time hyping up Mark Hamill's return as Luke Skywalker, only for many to be left disappointed by his seconds-long role in the film.

Here, Ford was featured more explicitly in Blade Runner 2049's marketing, and yet while his part was also smaller than expected, it didn't seem like a cynical, calculated choice in the slightest, but simply what made the most story sense.

That Villeneuve delivered a sequel which arguably outdid the classic original even while confining the central character to the third act is a frankly staggering achievement.