“They are cooking with the right ingredients”: Michelle Yeoh’s Blade Runner 2099 Gets the Mother of All Updates That Will Keep the Franchise Alive
The Blade Runner franchise has been a fan favorite for many years with its dystopian future vision and complex philosophical themes. From the original Ridley Scott movie in 1982 to Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed sequel, Blade Runner 2049, the series has cemented its place in the science fiction genre.
Now, to much delight for fans, the story is going to be further explored through the recently announced Blade Runner 2099 Prime Video series. As a follow-up to the previous films that expanded the story of Blade Runner, this new miniseries will add a new dimension to the familiar themes of humanity and life.
Blade Runner 2099‘s Cast and Crew Ensemble
After months of waiting, the actual work on Blade Runner 2099 is on the way. According to Collider, the new series is expected to start shooting in June 2024, and the production process is to continue in Prague and Spain up to December 2024. With Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh starring in the lead role, the series looks promising to bring a fresh vibe to the franchise.
Known for her popular roles in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Star Trek: Discovery, and many more, Yeoh’s presence is a testament to the franchise’s efforts to carry the Blade Runner legacy forward.
Yeoh is accompanied by many great talents who also contributed to the making of this movie. The director of the original Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, also comes back as a producer for Blade Runner 2099, which hints that the franchise will follow in the footsteps of the original movie while going further in its world.
With the announcement of the movie’s shooting date and cast, netizens have expressed their excitement online.
They are cooking with the right ingredients
— Joel “Bam” Watts (@Bamalam) May 28, 2024
Shogun is the best thing on streaming right now, so with TulIeken directing, I like the chances that Bladerunner 2099 will be good.
— Matt Carano (@matthewcarano) May 28, 2024
This is gonna cook so hard. Been excited for this since they announced it in 2022.
— Logan Tamlyn (@spikedcinema) May 28, 2024
they deserve a theatrical release https://t.co/LwWoDwRcWW
— andie⁷ 🐯 (@kimtinyvantae) May 29, 2024
I love the aesthetic of this universe so of course I'll be seated, 100%. I'm there for Michelle Yeoh too https://t.co/vrIjFSudBz
— Jelly (@jellycat13_) May 29, 2024
Apart from Yeoh and Scott, producer-showrunner Silka Luisa, who is known for her contributions to Shining Girls, Strange Angels, and Halo, will be the showrunner of Blade Runner 2099.
Shōgun director Jonathan van Tulleken has directed the first two episodes of the show. Michael Green, who was also the co-writer of Blade Runner 2049, is the executive producer of the show along with Luisa, Tulleken, and Scott.
Blade Runner 2099‘s Possible Story and Plot
Although the specific plot details of the show remain a mystery, fans hope to see a new perspective on the franchise given that the show will be set fifty years after Blade Runner 2049.
It will reveal a number of new aspects of the complexities between human and replicant inhabitants of a technologically advanced world in which the differences between the natural and the artificial become more and more ambiguous.
According to Variety, Yeoh might play the role of a replicant named Olwen, whose life is about to end. Talking about the potential of Blade Runner 2099, Amazon Studios’ head of global television, Vernon Sanders, stated (according to Deadline),
We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.
In an interview with Empire, Scott revealed that Blade Runner 2099 will have a lot of commonalities with Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Moreover, Blade Runner 2049 also showed that some of the replicants were building up resistance, so there might be a conflict between them and their creator in the upcoming installment.
The premiere date of Blade Runner 2099 has not been revealed yet.
