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by Duarte Garrido, Entertainment Reporter

In 2007, the late film critic Roger Ebert apologised for using the word "replicant" in his review of the 1982 sci-fi, neo-noir classic Blade Runner without explaining what the word meant.

"I have committed a journalistic misdemeanor," Ebert wrote.

"I have referred to replicants without ever establishing what a replicant is."

And then he explained that the involuntary act had in fact been a Freudian slip, "a tribute to the influence and reach of the film that, 25 years after its release, virtually everyone reading this knows about replicants".

He was right.

Widely considered one of the best science fiction movies of all time, Ridley Scott's cinematic masterpiece has been waiting for a sequel since the first day it premiered.

And, since 1999, Blade Runner 2049 has been gently brewing in the mind of its creator.

But even for die-hard fans, who cannot wait to see Harrison Ford's Deckard back on the screen, the mere contemplation that the sequel may be better than its predecessor is pure heresy.

So, in honour of Philip K Dick's six Nexus-6 renegades, we give you six reasons why fans are wrong.

Androids couldn't dream of a better director

First and foremost, Denis Villeneuve, the Canadian director in charge of the sequel, is one of the greatest filmmakers working today.

His auteur approach to image and sound is light years ahead of what Scott has done in the last 20 years and, arguably, better than anything he ever did before.

Considered a visionary director when he transitioned from TV to the big screen in the 1970s, Scott had failed to deliver anything palatable since the 2008 political drama Body Of Lies.

Villeneuve, on the other hand, has consistently made one highly acclaimed movie a year since he got nominated at the Oscars for best foreign language film in 2010.

While most his movies are crime thrillers, the director has confessed his long love for sci-fi with his latest Oscar-winning film Arrival.

He has since taken on the herculean task of following Scott's legacy in Blade Runner and taking over Lynch for a reboot of his 1984 classic Dune.

"I need you, Decks. I need the old Blade Runner."

Ask and you shall receive.

Harrison Ford is back as bounty hunter Rick Deckard but, this time, he is in better company.

While Rutger Hauer managed to give the finest acting of his career in the original film, the star power of Blade Runner 2049 is far superior.

Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Mackenzie Davis and the underrated Dave Bautista are a fantastic ensemble.

Writers can be "either a benefit or a hazard"

But this time, Villeneuve has the benefit of working with the original writer.

Hampton Fancher caught his big break when he managed to convince Philip K Dick to write a screenplay based on his novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? in 1981.

Now, he has adapted K W Jeter's novel Blade Runner 2: The Edge Of Human, a continuation of the K Dick original.

With him is Michael Green, who recently co-penned James Mangold's Logan and Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant.

Bringing back old writers can be a gamble, but having new blood in the mix could balance things.

Nothing will be "lost in time": Ridley Scott is still involved

As aforementioned, Scott has done some questionable things, but he has also done some extraordinary things.

Being closely involved in the project as a producer instead of directing the movie was a classy choice, and his input will surely be considered and contested by a director whose resume speaks for itself.

Times have changed for the better

"I remember the opening sequence perfectly," Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly, remembering the first film.

"That note of music; seeing Los Angeles in 2019; that smog; that darkness. It's really the movie that gave birth to my desire to become a director."

If Blade Runner was considered a trail blazer in the 1980s, with its unique photography and production design, imagine the things Villeneuve will be able to do now.

The neo-noir ambience in movies has been perfected and is very much in vogue, with films like David Fincher's Gone Girl and both Gosling-Winding Refn collaborations taking advantage of it.

And director of photography Roger Deakins has the expertise to secure the movie's texture will fit the director's choices.

Dave Bautista said so!

Dave Bautista, the six-time WWE world champion turned movie star, has promised us that the sequel will top the original.

"I think it's going to be - and this is hard to say because I know I'm going to get some grief for this - I think it's going to be better than the first film," Bautista said.

"And I'm saying that because I think the script is better, it's deeper. I think it's a better story, I think it's told in a better way, and I think it just answers a lot of questions. It's going to be great."

Bautista has recently proved his wise judgement by starring in some of the biggest blockbusters in recent years.

If he says it's good, it's good.

Blade Runner 2049 will open in cinemas worldwide 6 October.

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