Live-Action ‘Blade Runner’ Series In Development at Amazon
From cult classic to improbable sequel and now to a live-action television series, Blade Runner has had a lifespan to make a replicant jealous.
Following Blade Runner and the 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049, the dystopian sci-fi series will next expand to streaming with a live-action series coming to Amazon’s Prime Video. The show, titled will be executive produced by the series’ original director Ridley Scott, and written by Silka Louisa of the upcoming series, Shining Girls. As suggested by the title, the series will be set 50 years after the events of the last movie, which itself was set in the far-flung year of 2019.
According to Deadline, the show is a high priority for Amazon:
The project, which would mark the first Blade Runner live-action series, is in priority development at Amazon Studios, which is fast tracking scripts and eyeing potential production dates. Staffing is currently underway for writers to join a room. Scott may direct if the series moves forward, sources said.
This is not Blade Runner’s first foray into television. Last fall, Adult Swim aired Blade Runner: Black Lotus, a 13-episode animated series set in the Blade Runner universe, but following new characters. Scott first teased the existence of this live-action Blade Runner TV project last fall.
Given the complex world of Blade Runner — a ruined future where mankind shares the planet with “replicants,” who are nearly perfect artificial duplicates of human being — it should be well-suited to an ongoing TV series; provided the budget is big enough to fully realize the franchise’s dark future. I wouldn’t expect to see Harrison Ford or Ryan Gosling on the show, but it would be very cool if they ultimately popped up somewhere.