Sci-fi fans got an early Christmas gift this week with the first Blade Runner 2049 trailer, which included the first footage from this long-awaited sequel, arriving in theaters October 6, 2017. We'll likely have to wait several more months until the next footage is released, but this week, stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling are featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, along with new photos as well. Director Denis Villeneuve also confirmed that this sci-fi thriller will have an R rating, while teasing more details about this story.

Entertainment Weekly also caught up with Ryan Gosling, who revealed last week that Harrison Ford actually punched him in the face during a take. The actor also clarified an earlier statement that Harrison Ford didn't start shooting on Blade Runner 2049 until a month after filming started, although he previously stated that the production had been under way for several months before Harrison Ford came aboard, which gave the cast and crew time to get ready for his arrival. Here's what Ryan Gosling had to say about working with Harrison Ford.

"They say never meet your heroes. But the addendum to that is: unless they're Harrison Ford. Harrison didn't start working until a month into production, so we had a lot of time to just imagine how that might be, and waiting for that moment to come, and hoping that we were making something that would be satisfying to him. And then it was just unmistakably him - even in silhouette, you couldn't miss it - and it was just such a relief. He immediately put everyone at ease and went right to work."

The story centers on Ryan Gosling's Officer K, an LAPD cop and new blade runner who discovers a secret 30 years after the events of the first film, which leads him to track down Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) to try and find some answers. During an interview with Screen Daily, director Denis Villeneuve confirmed that Blade Runner 2049 will in fact be rated R, just like its predecessor. Here's what the filmmaker had to say below.

"My producers are finding it fun to remind me that it will be one of the most expensive R-rated independent feature films ever made."

Denis Villeneuve directs from a script by Michael Green and Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original Blade Runner. Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to Blade Runner in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Alcon's Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.

The supporting cast includes Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, Dave Bautista, Carla Juri, Mackenzie Davis, Jared Leto, Lennie James, David Dastmalchian, Sylvia Hoeks and Barkhad Abdi. Warner Bros. had previously set a January 12, 2018 release date for Blade Runner 2049, but it was pushed to October 6, 2017 back in April. The sci-fi sequel will go up against 20th Century Fox's Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Lionsgate's My Little Pony. Take a look at the new photos for Blade Runner 2049 below.