Amazon has announced they are developing a Bladerunner 2099 series for Prime. Ridley Scott, director of original Bladerunner movies will return to the franchise as executive producer of Bladerunner 2099. First details that this might happen came out towards the start of the year. However now THR reports that the show has been given the green light.
The trade also reports that Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) will be the showrunner of what is currently billed as a limited series. In terms of plot details, all that’s known is the obvious. This series will be set 50 years after Bladerunner 2049, the Villeneuve directed sequel to Scott’s original movie.
“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 Amazon studios head of global television Vernon Sanders. “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. 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,” Alcon co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said in a statement.
“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.”
Bladerunner 2099 has a lot to love up. Both Bladerunner and Bladerunner 2049 are in my mind masterpieces of cinema, and yet so different from one another in many ways. One of the components which makes those movies so memorable are the aesthetics and visual language used. Scott defined a vision of a future somewhat realistic, but beautiful in it’s own neon soaked, environmentally ruined Los Angeles. Bladerunner 2049 had a lot to live up and I thought Villeneuve pulled it off and then some.
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However Bladerunner 2049 also cost a fortune to make look that good and was hardly a box office smash. Just how much will it cost to make a limited TV series and will they be able to match the visual spectacle of the movies? Amazon has spent billions on The Rings of Power and it looks movie quality. However The Lord of the Rings is simply a far more popular IP than Bladerunner ever was or will be.
I guess we will find out eventually. Scott being involved hopefully should ensure someone is keeping an eye on the visual quality.
What do you think as Bladerunner 2099 announced at Amazon? Or, the news that Ridley Scott will return as an exec producer? As always, leave any thoughts below.
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