It took decades for Blade Runner 2049 to continue the legacy of Ridley Scott’s landmark science-fiction noir. Thanks to Denis Villeneuve’s beautiful continuation of the franchise, Ridley Scott is retaking the reins for a long-form series titled Blade Runner 2099. Amazon Prime will be the home for the new show from Shining Girls showrunner Silka Luisa.
Set 50 years after the 2017 sequel, this would mark the first live-action series set in the future world of replicants and the titular cops on their trail. It will be the second overall series, following the animated Blade Runner: Black Lotus which premiered in 2021. Ridley Scott is producing Blade Runner 2099, which comes from Scott Free Productions in association with Alcon Entertainment and Amazon Studios. In addition to serving as showrunner, Luisa will also write the series.
Of course, Blade Runner 2099 is a priority project for Amazon. The studio is fast-tracking scripts while studying the calendar for potential production start dates. Staffing for writers to join a room is already underway. It’s also been said that Scott may direct if the series gets the green light.
Deadline was the first to report this news.
1982’s Blade Runner, which is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, focuses on a Blade Runner tasked with terminating four replicants who stole a ship in space, and have returned to Earth to find their creator. The film serves as the seed of the Blade Runner franchise, which has captured the imaginations of fans for generations. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos starred.
The 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049, is one of my favorite science-fiction films of all time. Set in 2049, the film stars Ryan Gosling as a replicant Blade Runner, who discovers a long-buried secret that leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years. Gorgeously shot by Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 expands the franchise in new and exciting ways.
Lastly, there’s Blade Runner: Black Lotus, an anime series that debuted late last year on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll. It is set in 2032 and revolves around a female replicant, voiced by Jessica Henwick. Will Yun Lee, Wes Bentley, Josh Duhamel, Samira Wiley, Takehito Koyasu, Stephen Root, and Brian Cox also starred.
Kosove and his Alcon co-founder Broderick Johnson are executive producing Blade Runner 2099 along with Michael Green, who wrote Blade Runner 2049, Ben Roberts and Cynthia Yorkin as well as Scott Free Productions’ David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger.
Hot damn! This is some mighty fine news for Blade Runner fans. I can’t wait to see who they cast for the series, and how it expands the already-awesome world inhabited by replicants and broody Blade Runners. Let’s go! How ready are you for a Blade Runner 2099 series?