The show Michelle Yeoh landed the lead role in Blade Runner 2099, and Hunter Schafer was also cast in a currently unnamed role. Yeoh's character, Olwen, in particular, seems to hint that the story of Blade Runner 2099 will be intriguing as well, as Olwen has been described as a replicant at the end of her lifespan.

Aside from the fact that it's a show instead of a movie, there are a few ways Blade Runner 2099 already seems very different from Blade Runner 2049. Ridley Scott, the director of the original Blade Runner, and his production company, Scott Free, are helping to produce 2099. Denis Villeneuve doesn't seem to be involved at this time, despite directing 2049. Aside from the stylistic differences between the creators, there's one big change for Blade Runner 2099 that will set it apart from the movies, and it could be just what the franchise needs.

Blade Runner 2099 Is Likely Moving Away From Harrison Ford’s Deckard

Blade Runner 2099, as the title implies, takes place 50 years after 2049. Just by nature of its place in the Blade Runner timeline, 2099 will likely move away from focusing on Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard. In 2049, Deckard was already an old man, and there's likely no way he would still be alive 50 years later. While Blade Runner 2099 could easily have many of the franchise's trappings, like the Wallace Corporation, replicants, and different Blade Runners, it seems Deckard won't be a major facet of the show. Leaving Deckard in the past could also solve a problem with Blade Runner 2049.

Blade Runner 2049 Felt Too Much Like An Epilogue To Deckard’s Story

Deckard was a very prominent character in Blade Runner 2049, and that was one of the film's few mistakes. The story of Deckard reuniting with his child was very compelling, and Blade Runner 2049 is still a fantastic sci-fi movie, but it felt a bit too much like an epilogue to the original Blade Runner. The biggest problem with Deckard's role in Blade Runner 2049, however, is that it just didn't live up to the franchise's potential. There are so many stories that could be explored in the world of Blade Runner, and focusing on Deckard through the years limits how encoming the franchise can be.

The story of Deckard reuniting with his child was very compelling, and Blade Runner 2049 is still a fantastic sci-fi movie, but it felt a bit too much like an epilogue to the original Blade Runner.

K's story, of a replicant forced to hunt down other replicants, could have been a tremendous way to explore the massive world of Blade Runner. While Blade Runner 2049 definitely did add quite a bit to the franchise's overarching story, focusing on Deckard kept the movie from really exploring all the franchise has to offer. There are plenty of fascinating things Blade Runner introduced that deserve a chance to be explored, from replicants to colonizing other planets and more, yet keeping the focus on Deckard prevents stories from exploring them. Luckily, Blade Runner 2099 presents the perfect solution.

A Blade Runner TV Show Is Exactly What The Franchise Needs

The Blade Runner franchise has dipped its toes into quite a few mediums in the past: there are two video games, an animated show, three comic books, and three short films that tie into the world of Blade Runner, in addition to the movies. They've already done a tremendous job of fleshing out the world, but Blade Runner 2099 has a chance to bring that world-building to a much wider audience. As a live-action show with a star-studded cast that will be available on Prime Video, 2099 is by far the biggest Blade Runner story since 2049.

Along with its wider reach, Blade Runner 2099 is primed to do something none of the other films or tie-ins have accomplished so far: tell a story completely away from Rick Deckard. All the games, shows, and comics so far have helped fill in the time before and between Blade Runner and 2049, both of which are essentially Deckard's story. Blade Runner 2099 will likely still include references to Deckard, or at least his child, Ana. Even with those references and the lingering effects of his actions, though, Blade Runner 2099 is moving well past Deckard's influence.

Moving away from Deckard is exactly what the Blade Runner franchise needs to become a more enduring staple of the sci-fi genre. Blade Runner 2099 has a chance to show just how much there is to the world of Blade Runner, and that it can be as expansive of a sci-fi franchise as Star Wars or Star Trek. Its serial format will also allow it to really spread out and intimately examine its subject in a way none of the films have been able to. Really, Blade Runner 2099 is doing what Blade Runner 2049 should have done in the first place.