Michelle Yeoh Joins The Most Anticipated Sci-Fi Sequel Series In Years

Michelle Yeoh has been confirmed to be the lead role in the series, which is titled Blade Runner 2099. According to Variety, Yeoh will reportedly play a character named Olwen, who is a replicant near the end of her life. The series was first revealed by original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott in 2021 and Amazon announced it would be developing the series in 2022.

Michelle Yeoh isn’t the only creative who has been attached to Blade Runner 2099, as Silka Luisa was previously announced as showrunner and executive producer. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott is also on board as executive producer along with David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger for Scott Free Productions and Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, and Ben Roberts for Alcon Entertainment. Tom Spezialy, Richard Sharkey, Michael Green, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett are also attached as executive producers with Steven Johnson co-executive producing.

We also know that Jonathan van Tulleken is set to direct the first two episodes of the series and executive produce.

Other than Michelle Yeoh, no cast has been announced for Blade Runner 2099, but Yeoh is definitely a great pick for the lead. Yeoh has a long and illustrious career, but her recent forays into sci-fi in Everything Everywhere All at Once and Star Trek: Discovery have been extremely well-received. 

Michelle Yeoh will take on another sci-fi project before Blade Runner 2099 with the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery spin-off film Star Trek: Section 31 on Paramount+. Yeoh will reprise her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, an agent of the titular Starfleet secret division. Star Trek: Section 31 will also star Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sam Richardson, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, and James Hiroyuki Liao.

Before Michelle Yeoh’s Blade Runner 2099, the most recent entry to the franchise was Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 in 2017. That film acted as a sequel to the original 1982 film and starred Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, reprising his role from the first film. The film was met with critical acclaim but lost money at the box office.

The franchise began with one of the most revered sci-fi films of all time, Blade Runner, which Ridley Scott directed and was loosely adapted from the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The film starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, who agrees to hunt down a group of fugitive synthetic humans known as replicants. Like its sequel, the film wasn’t considered a box office success, but it would gradually become a cultural touchstone and incredibly acclaimed project, especially after Ridley Scott adjusted the film through director’s cuts.

There’s no word yet on when we can expect to see Michelle Yeoh in Blade Runner 2099. Hopefully, we’ll hear some more news on the series sooner than later. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated in the meantime.

Source: Variety