Amazon greenlights BLADE RUNNER 2099 TV mini-series

Amazon has greenlit Blade Runner 2099, a live-action TV mini-series set in the world of the 1982 movie Blade Runner and its 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049. They initially announced the series was on the fast track to development back in February.

Ridley Scott, who directed the first movie and produced the second, is on board as executive producer and consultant. Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) is the main writer and showrunner for the project. Tom Spezialy (Watchmen, Ash vs. Evil Dead) is also on board as a writer. Alcon Productions (The Expanse) will make the show in conjunction with Scott's own production company, Scott Free.

Both Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 were commercial disappointments on their original release, but have grown to be cult successes, with both movies enjoying an impressive long tail on video, DVD, Blu-Ray and now streaming. Both films have also enjoyed substantial critical acclaim.

Moving the story a full fifty years on from the events of Blade Runner 2049 suggests there will be few, if any, story or character crossovers with earlier iterations of the franchise. Amazon fast-tracking the project suggests it will film in 2023 for a likely 2024 release.

Amazon puts cyberpunk TV series BLADE RUNNER 2099 into development

Amazon Studios have fast-tracked development of Blade Runner 2099, a live-action TV series set in the world of the 1982 movie Blade Runner and its 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049.

Ridley Scott is executive producing the new series, which will be showrun and primarily written by Silka Luisa (Shining Girls, Strange Angel). Alcon Entertainment, which recently produced The Expanse for Amazon, is the production company.

Staffing up is underway, with Amazon having already greenlit multiple scripts and production dates already being considered. Apparently Amazon are courting Scott to direct the first episode.

The rapidity of the project may raise eyebrows. Blade Runner 2049 was only a modest success, making $260 million on a production budget of ~$170 million. The filmy likely only just squeaked into profitability on the basis of media and streaming sales. However, the film has had a solid long tale and its director, Denis Villeneuve, has since enjoyed a much bigger hit with Dune: Part One, which may have encouraged people to seek out his earlier work.

Although neither film has been a huge financial success, both have enjoyed immense critical acclaim, which Amazon may be hoping translates into a solid home audience for a further continuation. However, by setting the movie a full fifty years after the events of the previous film, it looks like they are not thinking of having any continuing characters.