Ridley Scott's Blade Runner introduced an intriguing, complex vision of the future that we only got to see a fraction of. Now thirty years later with Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve is expanding on that world before the sequel's release with a series of short films. We already saw the first which centered on Jared Leto's mysterious Niander Wallace character. And now we have the next one, titled 2048: Nowhere to Run, which stars Dave Bautista.
Bautista plays Sapper Morton, a brooding, imposing replicant on the run in Villeneuve's film. But here we see a much softer, human side to the character as he keeps his true nature hidden from others. When his secret is revealed in a shocking act of violence in protection of another, he is immediately in danger from a society that fears those just like him. The short is once again directed by Luke Scott, Ridley's son.
However, it won't be Scott at the helm of the next short, which promises to take a completely different approach. The next one will be an anime film, titled Blade Runner Black Out 2022, with Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe at the helm. This one is set a few years before the original movie during a power outage.
While the film isn't ready yet, a video featuring concept art and test footage is, and it shows characters that appear to be brand new to the franchise. I would say that Cowboy Bebop, and much of Watanabe's work, has been influenced by Blade Runner and it'll be cool to see what he does when given the keys to that world, even for just a brief time. Blade Runner Black Out 2022 will hit Sony's Japanese YouTube channel on September 26th.
Blade Runner 2049 opens October 6th.
#BladeRunner2049's @DaveBautista is a replicant on the run in this never-before-seen in-world prequel. Watch it now. pic.twitter.com/xGn3WfjATF— iTunes Trailers (@iTunesTrailers) September 14, 2017
