Back in 2017 we were introduced to Officer K as he began to uncover a long buried secret and revived the world of Blade Runner. In a world of tired reboots and sequels, Blade Runner 2049 was \ refreshingly worthy update to the original that brought something new whilst advancing the building blocks laid by the original.
Following it’s success, the on screen mythology of the Philip K Dick adaption is about to receive another expansion with an animated prequel series in the works.
Taking place in 2032, the as yet untitled Blade Runner series will consist of 13 half hour episodes aired through Adult Swim in partnership with Crunchyroll and Alcon Television. The series is said to feature some pre-established chatacters earlier in their lives and take inspiration from the visual cues of the 2049 sequel.
“I first saw Blade Runner in 1982, at age 11. It has remained one of the defining films of my life.” Jason DeMarco, creative director of Adult Swim said in a statement announcing the project, “To be able to explore more of this universe, with the incredible talent we have on board, is a dream come true.”
With only two movies released 35 years apart, there’s still a lot of the Blade Runner lore to explore and a lot of gaps to fill in with it’s history. Details are thin on the ground as the series enters it’s developmental stage, but there is a vast canvas to pick and choose from when developing the full story, whether that be original ideas or cherry picked from the films, original novel and follow up books.
Co-directors of the Netflix series Ultraman, Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama will be helming the series along with Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichiro Watanabe as creative director. Watanabe has previous works in the Blade Runner universe having directed the shiort Black Out 2022 as promotional material for the 2049 movie release in 2017.
The untitled prequel isn’t the only works expanding the universe. Aside from the Adult Swim animation, Blade Runner was announced to be expanding into comic book form with a series set to debut through Titan Comics in the near future.
As for the film franchise, it seems unlikely we’ll see another Blade Runner film any time soon. Despite original director Ridley Scott seemingly willing to return with an idea in mind and the films international success, the sequel made money but not enough for the studios liking. So it seems the future, for now, will be seen in animated form!
More information on the new Blade Runner series will be available later in 2019.
This article was originally published in it’s full form in SFCQ2 Comms Discover More Edition published January 2019. Members can read the full review by logging into Comms or by downloading their latest copy. If you’re not a member and want to read more or enjoy more of our membership benefits, you can enlist today for free!
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