While we’ve all been anticipating any sort of casting update concerning Amazon‘s live-action “Blade Runner” spinoff series “Blade Runner 2099,” there has been a bit of a creative shake-up as Deadline reports that “Shōgun” director Jonathan Van Tulleken has joined the sci-fi thriller streaming series and there is an expectation that filming might finally begin in Prague around the spring/summer of this year after multiple production delays. Moving from its original production home of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Van Tulleken will replace the series’ previous director Jeremy Podeswa of “Station Eleven,” who is said to have exited over “scheduling issues.” His mature samurai series reboot, “Shōgun,” is already getting some major buzz from critics ahead of its late February debut on Hulu and on Disney+ internationally.

As the title suggests, the Amazon series will take place 50 years after the events of Denis Villeneuve‘s impressive sequel “Blade Runner 2049” which starred Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, and Robin Wright. Silka Luisa is the writer and showrunner with Michael Green (“Blade Runner 2049”) serving as an executive producer. Details are unknown, but in 2049 it’s revealed that there are nine off-world colonies none of which we have explored in live-action, so far. Given the 50-year time jump there is the potential for “Blade Runner 2099” to explore both Los Angeles and these off-world colonies that have been consistently teased over the last 40+ years. They are considered a hellish place for replicants as they’re used as slave labor in various mining operations and end up being also used as pawns in various off-world wars. In “2049,” there were hints of a replicant uprising being planned that could see Wallace’s new wave of androids rebelling against their human overlords across the galaxy.

The series hails from Alcon Entertainment and Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free Productions. Scott as you might remember helped launch the “Blade Runner” franchise in 1982 with the first film (A loose adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”) becoming a bit of a cult smash on home video after a disastrous theatrical release which could be due to the horrendous voice-over element from Harrison Ford that would be removed from subsequent television and director cuts of the cyberpunk classic.

“Shōgun” looks to be just as big of a technical giant for a director to execute which could be a strong reason why Van Tulleken was selected as the new helmer. Now, with a director firmly set, the next phase will be filling out the show’s cast.

SOURCE: DEADLINE