Blade Runner 2099 Finds Director, Sci-Fi Series Gearing Up For Production
Since it was first announced in the fall of 2022, sci-fi fans everywhere have been eagerly anticipating the release of the latest in the Blade Runner cinematic universe, Blade Runner 2099. We now know that the series will begin production in April of this year with new director Jonathan van Tulleken at the helm, in hopes for a debut on Amazon Prime some time in 2025. It’s been a long road for the limited series to get to this far, as the production has had several substantial roadblocks on its way to the set.
Derailed By The Strikes
Originally, Blade Runner 2099 was set to be filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland over the summer of 2023. But the long strike by the Writers Guild of America led to a work stoppage, grinding any hopes of beginning production to a halt. The delays were why the original director of the series, Jeremy Podeswa, removed himself from the project as it created conflicts with his other industry obligations.
Shifting Locations
Blade Runner 2099 will begin filming with Tulleken, but production will now be in the Czech Republic instead of Belfast. Tulleken has become a hot commodity for guiding the production of television series since his successes behind the scenes directing episodes of Reprisal and The Changeling. He’ll be juggling a busy schedule with this endeavor as well, as his recently finished work on the show Shogun will be replaced with not only Blade Runner 2099, but also with director duties on the series Sinking Spring and the film Off Season.
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2099 is a direct sequel to the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049, and will bring back some familiar names to the production. Ridley Scott, the director of the original 1982’s Blade Runner, will serve as executive producer of the latest in the series. His company, Scott Free Productions, is combining efforts with Alcon Entertainment to bring what is believed to be a 10-episode series to Amazon Prime.
2049’s Scribe Returns
The writer of Blade Runner 2049, Michael Green, returns behind the scenes for Blade Runner 2099 in the role of an additional executive producer. While no cast members have been announced, it’s been assumed that since this sequel takes place in a different time, that it will involve all new characters.
Brave New Blade Runner
Much of the details surrounding Blade Runner 2099 have been kept under wraps by the production company. In 2022, Ridley Scott told BBC Today that the storyline had been developed, and he dropped some hints that there might be some elements in the film that are reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
Blade Runner was based on the 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Phillip K. Dick. The film starred Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos.
Sources: Deadline
