The world of Blade Runner is about to expand once again with a new series entitled Blade Runner 2099.
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First reported in Feb. of 2022, Amazon has officially given a series order to its sequel series to Blade Runner 2049.
“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Amazon Studios. “We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.”
“We are delighted to continue our working relationship with our friends at Amazon,” Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said. “And we are beyond excited to continue to extend the Blade Runner canon into a new realm with the provocative storyline that Silka has created. Audiences first discovered Ridley Scott’s brilliant vision for Blade Runner 40 years ago, and since then, it has become one of the most influential science-fiction films of all time. Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up sequel, Blade Runner 2049, then became one of the best reviewed sequels of all time. So, we recognize that we have a very high bar to meet with this next installment. Together with Silka and our partners at Amazon, and Scott Free Productions, we hope that we can live up to that standard and delight audiences with the next generation of Blade Runner.”
Silka Luisia is writing the series and serving as executive producer along with Ridley Scott, the director of the original film. Michael Green, who co-wrote Blade Runner 2049, will also serve as an executive producer along with Kosove and Johnson from Alcon. Alcon’s head of television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger of Scott Free, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett will also executive produce. Tom Spezialy has joined the writers’ room and will serve as an executive producer.
The original film was adapted from Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and was set in a version of 2019 where we had flying cars and human-like Replicants occasionally went rogue. 2049 followed the return of Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard from the original and jumped the series ahead 30 years.
There is currently an anime series entitled Blade Runner: Black Lotus that deals with the events of 2032.
The series hails from Alcorn Entertainment which was also behind The Expanse, which just came to an end on Amazon Prime Video. Blade Runner 2099 seems like a perfect fit for the service to sit next to its Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series.
Amazon seems to be focusing on high-cost genre productions at the moment, and one has to wonder other legacy IPs the company could go after next.
