DAVID Bowie was pencilled in to play the villain in Blade Runner 2049, it has emerged.
However after the musical icon died of cancer in January 2016 director Denis Villeneuve was forced to find an alternative and Jared Leto was ultimately cast in the villainous role for the eagerly awaited Blade Runner sequel, which is released this week.
Though Bowie was best known as a singer and musician, he was also an accomplished actor and was acclaimed for roles in The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Hunger, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, and his turn as the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
Director Denis Villeneuve confirmed the Space Oddity star was his first choice to play Blade Runner baddie Neander Wallace.
Villeneuve said: “Our first thought [for the character] had been David Bowie, who had influenced Blade Runner in many ways. When we learned the sad news, we looked around for someone like that.”
Like Bowie, Jared Leto is a singer and songwriter whose band Thirty Seconds to Mars has sold more than fifteen million albums worldwide.
Blade Runner's sequel will be in cinemas on October 5, more than 35 years after the original neo-noir sci-fi classic was released.
The original cult movie, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Harrison Ford as protagonist Rick Deckard. Ford will reprise the role in the sequel.
Ryan Gosling takes the lead in Blade Runner 2049, which has won rave reviews from critics ahead of its release.
Leading critics have given showered the film with praise with most awarding it five stars and some claiming it is "a visual feast" and a "spiritually staggering blockbuster" that is even better than the original.
London born Bowie was at the forefront of music for over five decades and acclaimed by critics and other musicians alike for his innovative and groundbreaking work. His sold an estimated 140 million albums worldwide making him one of the world's best-selling music artists.
He died of liver cancer in his New York City apartment two days after his 69th birthday. He had been diagnosed 18 months earlier but had not made the news of his illness public.
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