EXCLUSIVE: The replicants are heading to the small-screen as Amazon Studios has put a live-action series set in the Blade Runner universe into development.
Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1982 Blade Runner movie, is executive producing the series, Blade Runner 2099, a follow-up to the feature film sequel Blade Runner 2049, which was released in 2017 and directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Silka Luisa, showrunner of Starz’s upcoming Elisabeth Moss-fronted drama series Shining Girls, is writing and exec producing Blade Runner 2099, which comes from Scott Free Productions in association with Alcon Entertainment and Amazon Studios.
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.
As indicated by Blade Runner 2099‘s title, the latest installment of the neo-noir sci-fi franchise will be set 50 years after the film sequel.
The company, which is behind Prime Video series The Expanse, has been ramping up activities across the Blade Runner franchise in the last few years. Last year it struck a licensing deal with Striker Entertainment to create a range of Blade Runner consumer products and, in September, Alcon Entertainment co-founder and co-CEO Andrew Kosove revealed that the company has two people whose job it is to keep the franchise’s timeline and continuity intact.
Kosove and his Alcon co-founder Broderick Johnson are exec producing the series along with Michael Green, who wrote Blade Runner 2049, Ben Roberts and Cynthia Yorkin as well as Scott Free Productions’ David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger.
‘Blade Runner 2099’ Sequel Series From Ridley Scott In Works At Amazon – Deadline
