Blade Runner 3 is coming as Amazon plans a Blade Runner back in 1982.
Of course Scott’s Blade Runner famously never took on a final form as different cuts of the film emerged over the years. The visually stunning sci-fi movie’s status as a cult classic also guaranteed that fans would forever pine for a sequel. That sequel finally happened in 2018 with Denis Villeneuve taking on directorial duties and Harrison Ford returning in the role of Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling. Unfortunately Blade Runner 2049's relatively soft box office performance silenced talk of yet another Blade Runner movie making it to theaters.
But these days with the proliferation of streaming services and other content outlets there is always a chance for dead movie projects to happen in other forms. Such is the case for that hoped-for Blade Runner 2049 follow-up, which is confirmed to be in development as a TV show from Amazon. Titled Blade Runner 2099, the show will be executive produced by Scott himself, with the venerable Blade Runner helmer possibly also taking on directorial duties. Writing duties are to be handled by Silka Luisa, the showrunner for Apple TV Plus’ sci-fi fantasy show Shining Girls. According to Deadline, a writers room is currently being put together.
Blade Runner 2099 is indeed the first live-action Blade Runner TV show to go into development. There is of course also the Blade Runner: Black Lotus anime show on Adult Swim, set in the year 2032. The original Blade Runner was famously set in Los Angeles in the far-off year of 2019, and involved Ford’s Deckard hunting down rogue synthetic humans, referred to as “replicants.” Blade Runner 2049 leaped 30 years ahead in the future and saw Gosling’s replicant K seeking out Deckard as part of a new mystery. Plot details on Blade Runner 2099 are obviously not available as the show isn’t even written yet, but the title does at least give away another major time leap for the Blade Runner universe, this time 50 years.
Blade Runner now heading to the small screen after two movies made decades apart should frankly not be a huge surprise after 2049 did only $259 million at the box office on a reported budget of up to $185 million. At the same time it’s still sad to think of Blade Runner being diminished in scope after the visual feast provided by the two movies. But in truth Blade Runner is a niche sci-fi title that probably belongs in the realm of TV/streaming, where it doesn’t have to compete for movie theater eyeballs with superhero films and big animated adventures. Even without the big-screen visuals, Blade Runner 3 has a chance to be a fascinating story, given the richness of the world that’s already been established by the movies. And if Scott indeed ends up directing some episodes, the whole enterprise becomes even more compelling for fans of the original movie.
Source: Deadline