This week, Warner Bros. released the official trailer for “Blade Runner 2049” – the eagerly anticipated sequel to “Blade Runner” starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, set to debut on October 6th – and while most of the sci-fi blockbuster was shot in Hungarian studios to present a digitally enhanced vision of Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the future, at least one monumental Budapest building was recognizably used as the filming location for what appears to be a major scene: the initial face-off between Gosling’s character and Ford, who is reprising his role as Rick Deckard.
In the newly released official trailer for Blade Runner 2049, the movie’s amazing scenery of futuristic Los Angeles and Las Vegas is obviously created with the use of visual effects, but at least one segment of this movie – mostly filmed in Hungary’s Korda Studios, located in the town of Etyek just outside of the capital city – was recognizably shot in an actual Budapest building, and it appears to be a pivotal scene.
Budapest’s historic Stock Exchange Building at Szabadság Square is obviously the facility used to portray the “Vintage Casino” in Blade Runner 2049, where Gosling’s “Officer K” seeks out Rick Deckard, who has been missing for 30 years in the movie’s plot. Even though some decorative elements were used to enhance the set – like adding Korean alphabetical characters to the windows above the doorway – Gosling is clearly walking into the main entrance of downtown’s Stock Exchange Building, as the lobby’s stairway, columns, lamps, and other structural elements are immediately recognizable. We can only wait until October to see if the full movie will include additional scenes that were identifiably shot in Budapest, but for now, watch the entire trailer below:
