TORONTO -- Quebec director Denis Villeneuve says making his upcoming "Blade Runner" sequel has been the most intense experience of his life, not just because of the challenging shoot in Budapest -- but also because of fan fervour.

"The level of expectation behind this movie is huge and everybody is waiting for the movie with open arms -- or with a baseball bat," he said with a laugh during an interview at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards on Tuesday night.

"The expectations are for obvious reasons: The first movie was a masterpiece and it's a very risky, challenging project. But I will say that it has been the most rewarding and exciting experience of my life so far and I'm excited.

"I'm looking forward to sharing it with you guys."

Due out in October, "Blade Runner 2049" is directed by Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Ridley Scott, director of the original film, is an executive producer on the sequel.

Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard, a former police operative who's been missing for decades, alongside Ryan Gosling of London, Ont., who plays an L.A. police officer.

Other cast members include Robin Wright, Jared Leto and Vancouver native Mackenzie Davis.

The sequel is set 30 years after the events of the first sci-fi film from 1982 but has the same tone, said Villeneuve.

"The first movie was a film noir, quite intense with melancholia and an existential crisis, so we are not far away from the thematics of the first movie, I will say," he said.

"It's the same genre, the same atmosphere."

Villeneuve received a special award from the TFCA on Tuesday recognizing his record for previously winning three Rogers Best Canadian Film Awards (for "Polytechnique," "Incendies" and "Enemy"), and his "extraordinary success in making original and powerful films within the Hollywood system without compromising his independent vision."

He was honoured the same day that his sci-fi film "Arrival" received nine nominations for the British Academy Film Awards, including best director. "Arrival" is also considered a solid contender for Oscar nominations.

Gosling is also racking up honours on the awards circuit with his role as a jazz pianist in "La La Land," for which he recently won a Golden Globe.

"It's very funny because we both started the same way, which is not to attend our own premiere," said Villeneuve.

"I remember having sadly being not able to release Ryan for his premiere in Venice, and me, when I learned that my movie was presented the next day in the same film festival, that I would not be able (to attend).

"We were both of us shooting as our movies were released in the world. We went through the same strange experience of giving birth to a movie without being there together. And we are seeing each other very often at different events, so it's kind of a nice way to go on in this relationship."