Believe it or not, it's been forty-four years since Ridley Scott's Blade Runner arrived in theaters. Following the release of Denis Villeneuve's sequel, Blade Runner 2049, in 2017, the franchise is jumping a further 50 years into the future with Prime Video's Blade Runner 2099.
However, for younger viewers who don't feel like watching the two movies to prepare for the series, lead star Michelle Yeoh has told Collider (via SFFGazette.com) that neither Blade Runner nor Blade Runner 2049 are required viewing.
The actress explained, "I think the most interesting thing I've heard so far is that even if you've not watched the first two movies — because in this new generation, the younger audience might not have watched the first one — you would understand because of the way the story evolves."
"And I think the complication between the two characters," Yeoh continued, "between Hunter [Schafer] and myself, it's... Say no more. [Laughs]"
It certainly doesn't sound like Blade Runner 2099 disregards the movies. However, the fact that they're not essential viewing suggests this is a story set simply in the world of Blade Runner rather than any sort of resolution to the story or a direct continuation of what's come before.
The series has never been billed as a sequel, and Blade Runner 2099 does look like a fun approach to the long-running sci-fi franchise. Most intriguing is it picking up in the aftermath of a war between humans and replicants...a war that humanity lost.
It's no secret that Scott's involvement with the series has been minimal, as he recently said, "I can't blame my lawyers and my agents at that time, but somehow we let 'Blade Runner' go. And when you're not the author of the actual written word, you don't have a piece."
In Los Angeles 2099, Olwen, a veteran Blade Runner days from dying, partners with a mysterious new recruit, Cora, to investigate a widening conspiracy that stretches back to the city’s darkest original sins
Dimitri Abold (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) and Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy) are series regulars alongside stars Michelle Yeoh (Wicked) and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria).
Katelyn Rose Downey (The Nun II), Daniel Rigby (Renegade Nell), Johnny Harris (A Gentleman in Moscow), Amy Lennox (Only Child), Sheila Atim (The Woman King), Matthew Needham (House of the Dragon), Tom Burke (Furiosa), and Maurizio Lombardi (Ripley) are recurring guest stars.
Silka Luisa serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Ridley Scott, Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon's President of Television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger from Scott Free Productions, Tom Spezialy, Richard Sharkey, Michael Green, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett.
Jonathan van Tulleken (Shogun) is an executive producer and directed the first two episodes of the limited series. Steven Johnson is Co-EP.
Blade Runner 2099 premieres on Prime Video on November 25.