Blade Runner 2099: What We Know About The Limited Series For Prime Video
No matter how much time passes, "Blade Runner" consistently holds up as not just one of Harrison Ford's best films, but one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. Forty years after Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece debuted, it still feels fresh, relevant, and looks incredible.
Which is why you'd think Hollywood would have milked it for all its worth in the age of the legacy sequel and rampant nostalgia bait. The thing is, "Blade Runner" didn't make that much money at the box office, bringing in just shy of $40 million globally. In the decades since, the film gained a significant cult following, to the extent that Warner Bros. was tempted to try a "Blade Runner" revival with 2017's "Blade Runner 2049," — a movie far too good to be a box office hit. Which it wasn't. It underperformed, bringing in a respectable $258 million at the global box office but still losing the studio money and becoming a cautionary tale for others looking to capitalize on legacy IP with a shaky appeal.
But that hasn't stopped Alcon Entertainment, the company that owns the film and TV rights to the franchise, from trying yet more "Blade Runner" revival fare. Thus far, we've had the Adult Swim/Crunchyroll anime project "Blade Runner: Black Lotus." And soon, we'll get the first live-action "Blade Runner" series in the form of "Blade Runner 2099." Yes, in an age where the prestige TV drama reigns supreme, Ridley Scott's seminal neo-noir vision is being reimagined for the silver screen as a limited series, courtesy of a co-production from Alcon, Amazon Studios, and Ridley Scott's own Scott Free Productions.
If you want to know all there is to know about the upcoming "Blade Runner" series, scroll on for more details.
What is the Blade Runner 2099 release date, and where can you watch it?
Amazon has yet to confirm a release date for "Blade Runner 2099," but based on developments so far, we can hazard a good guess as to when the show will arrive. Announced via Deadline in February 2022, the limited series was said to be a priority development at Amazon Studios, with the company keen to get such a high-profile project up and running as soon as possible.
Per Deadline, Alcon Entertainment shopped the distribution rights to "Blade Runner 2099" in the fall of 2021, before Ridley Scott told the BBC in November of that year that a pilot script had already been written, alongside a show bible. Amazon Studios quickly snapped up the project, before confirming in September 2022 that "Blade Runner 2099" had been ordered to series for its Prime Video streaming service.
We then learned, via BBC, that the show would film in Ireland, with Northern Ireland Screen chief executive Richard Williams confirming a spring 2023 start date. If that turns out to be the case, don't expect the series to make it to Prime Video in 2023. Filming will no doubt take months and if post-production is anything like you might expect on a big-budget sci-fi outing, we should prepare for "Blade Runner 2099" to debut sometime in 2024.
When it does finally premiere, it will do so on Prime Video wherever available.
What is Blade Runner 2099 about?
For now, Amazon and everyone else involved in "Blade Runner 2099" are staying tight-lipped on the actual plot of the show. We know it will be a follow-up to "Blade Runner 2049," the beautiful and respectful 2017 sequel from director Denis Villeneuve, and will take place 50 years after that Ryan Gosling-led entry. Other than that, there have been some vague hints as to the overall tone of the upcoming show, but nothing concrete.
Ridley Scott previously provided updates on both the upcoming "Alien" television series and the "Blade Runner" show, revealing at the time that, "We [have already] written the pilot for 'Blade Runner' and the bible. So, we're already presenting 'Blade Runner' as a TV show, the first 10 hours." Across those 10 episodes (via Deadline), we can expect to see what Amazon Studios' head of global television Vernon Sanders deemed a show that will "uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors."
Meanwhile, Alcon Entertainment co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson promised a "provocative storyline" penned by Silka Luisa, who served as showrunner on Apple TV+'s Elisabeth Moss-led thriller series "Shining Girls." Considering Alcon helped shepherd the excellent, if financially underwhelming, "Blade Runner 2049," and employs people whose job is to simply keep the "Blade Runner" timeline straight, we're sure whatever the story turns out to be, it will be handled with the proper respect the material deserves.
Who's in the cast and crew of Blade Runner 2099?
"Blade Runner 2099" comes from Alcon Entertainment, which also produced fellow Prime Video series "The Expanse." Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions and Amazon Studios are helping realize the "Blade Runner" show, with Scott himself serving as executive producer. There were rumors that he could direct an episode or two but that seems slightly less likely after Jeremy Podeswa, of "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective" fame, was announced as pilot director in March 2023.
Podeswa will also serve as producing director and executive producer. The aforementioned Silka Luisa is providing the script, on showrunner duty, and executive producing. In fact, this show has a startling amount of executive producers. Michael Green, who co-wrote "Logan," and "Blade Runner 2049," is on board as a "non-writing executive producer," according to Deadline, while Alcon co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will also executive produce. Tom Spezialy ("Watchmen," "The Leftovers") is lending his writing talents to the project, and — guess what — he's an executive producer too.
At this point, there's no word on casting. With Harrison Ford's recent foray into TV with the Apple TV+ show "Shrinking" and "Yellowstone" spin-off "1923," we're hoping for a Rick Deckard cameo in "Blade Runner 2099" — though the timeline would necessitate some sort of anti-aging tech be developed. Perhaps they'll make him an executive producer?
And that's pretty much all we have on "Blade Runner 2099" for now. More details are sure to emerge in the coming months as filming gets underway, so stay tuned as we'll be updating this page with all the latest developments.
Where can I stream the Blade Runner movies and anime?
Meanwhile, if you're looking to catch up on the "Blade Runner" movies ahead of the new show dropping, there are a host of options.
"Blade Runner: The Final Cut" can be found on HBO Max, which will soon become Max in the wake of Warner Bros. Discovery's recent announcement. This is the 2007 cut, over which Ridley Scott was given complete control, and is about as close to the director's original vision for the movie as you're likely to get. You'll need a subscription to watch the movie via HBO Max, but if you're just looking to rent, the film is available using the usual services, including Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Google Play Movies, where it will run you $3.99.
If you want to catch the legacy sequel, "Blade Runner 2049" is currently streaming on Hulu. Again, you'll need a subscription to watch on this particular platform, but the Ryan Gosling-led follow-up is, of course, available to rent via the same services as "Blade Runner" and will, again, cost $3.99. "Blade Runner 2099" is said to be a sequel to "2049" so it's probably worth reminding yourself what happens before the show arrives.
For those interested in catching up on the events of "Blade Runner: Black Lotus," the 2021 anime is available to stream on the Crunchyroll website. If you sign up for the 14-day trial, you'll be able to watch it for free. Alternatively, the show is available for purchase from all the aforementioned platforms.