Amazon Studios have announced a brand new Blade Runner TV Series – Blade Runner 2099.
Acclaimed director Ridley Scott was responsible for birthing the cinematic world of Blade Runner, based on a short novel written by Phillip K. Dick. Scott,
And Scott will be returning to executive produce the series.
Silka Luisa will executive produce. She’ll also be writing the series. Currently, Luisa is the showrunner for Apple TV +’s ‘Shining Girls’.
The first installment of the Blade Runner franchise came in the form of the original film back in 1982.
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Harrison Ford starred as Deckard in this film as he was tasked with retiring five replicants (robots created for slave labour with a limited life span) who had escaped back to Earth.
This was followed up in 2017 by Blade Runner 2049. This film was directed by Dune’s Denis Villeneuve. Ryan Gosling took the lead of the film with Harrison Ford also returning – much to the delight of fans.
The sequel saw a new blade runner (Gosling), uncover a secret that lead to a quest to find Deckard (Ford) who had been missing for 30 years.
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Then last year came the latest edition with the animated show Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
This was set between the two films in 2032. It had some intriguing world-building ties to characters from the 2017 film and further enriched the franchise.
What will Blade Runner 2099 be about?
What we know so far is that it will be a sequel to the 2017 film.
This means there will likely be ties to this film – and by extension, the original.
Being set 50 years after the Blade Runner 2049 also means we can expect there to be dramatic changes in what the world of Blade Runner looks like.
Such a large time jump raises enough questions to throw The Riddler at.
Towards the end of 2049 (spoilers ahead) the replicants looked set on starting a war with humanity for their right to survive. We may see this in action or its aftermath.
It’s also possible we’ll finally venture off-world and follow Blade Runners on some of the colony worlds where replicants may have gotten out of hand.
Both films and the TV show have been set in LA so it seems only logical that 2099 will continue this trend.
There is also a popular fan theory that one of Ridley Scott’s other major franchises is linked to Blade Runner.
Timeline-wise, it’s plausible to connect Blade Runner with the Alien films. Both feature very human-like A.I.
The Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner could also very easily have merged into Weyland-Yutani from the Alien franchise.
But this is just pure speculation.
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Who will be in 2099 and when will it air?
The three puzzle pieces from the Blade Runner franchise so far also had a host of stars in them. These included Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Ryan Gosling, Jessica Henwick, Dave Bautista, Rutger Hauer and Jared Leto.
Blade Runner 2099 is surely going to attract a lot of star power then, even for its smallest roles.
Gosling and Ford aren’t expected to return. But cameos are always a possibility. Blade Runner 2049 proved this to great effect.
Those die-hard fans worried about continuity needn’t worry either. Alcon Entertainment co-founder and co-CEO Andrew Kosove revealed the company has two people whose job it is to keep the franchise’s timeline and continuity intact. That’s dedication.
Amazon is also looking to fast-track this property.
A pilot is already written. It’s now just a matter of fixing dates for production.
With a company like Amazon behind it and a lot of care going into its quality, fans are surely in for a treat.
As for the rest, we’ll just have to wait and see.
