Tag: Blade Runner

'Blade Runner 2099': Michelle Yeoh To Star In Amazon's Cyberpunk Spinoff Series
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‘Blade Runner 2099’: Oscar-Winner Michelle Yeoh To Star In Amazon’s Cyberpunk Spinoff Series

Amazon Prime Video is riding high after their latest series “Fallout” has become their second biggest viewed show on the streaming service behind “Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power,” and one of their other ambitious projects looks to help expand the “Blade Runner” universe with “Blade Runner 2099.”

Best Actress Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) is the first actor to join the limited cyberpunk series, according to various trade reports, including one from Variety. That would suggest that Yeoh is taking a lead role, but there aren’t any concrete plot or character details about who exactly the actress is playing in “Blade Runner 2099.”

The world of “Blade Runner” hails from the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” but properly fleshed-out thanks to Ridley Scott in 1982 with the original movie and then Denis Villeneuve’s sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” As the title would suggest, there is going to be a 50-year time jump with this new streaming series, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed we’ll finally see some of these off-world colonies (nine colonies established back in 2049).

While both feature films have had a huge influence from both Japanese and Chinese atheistic, we really haven’t seen what these Asian countries look like in this universe. However, there is the assumption that various Asian countries like Japan are behind the effort to populate the off-world colonies, and Earthbound nations might be just as sparse as the United States.

One of the other impressive hirings for the spinoff series is director Jonathan van Tulleken, who most recently worked on the massive FX hit streaming series, “Shogun,” and helmed two episodes.

Yeoh has made her presence in Hollywood’s genre realm well-established going back to the 1990s when she joined the James Bond franchise with “Tomorrow Never Dies,” which nearly led to her own spinoff film but ultimately didn’t materialize. Some of those other genre projects include “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Danny Boyle’s sci-fi thriller “Sunshine,” “American Born Chinese,” “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” had a brief cameo in “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2,” “Morgan,” “The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor,” and James Cameron’s highly-anticipated “Avatar” sequels to the two previous multi-billion dollar successes.

An exciting development on a streaming project that could help add to the “Blade Runner” mythology.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Blade Runner 2099’: Amazon Taps ‘Shōgun’ Director Jonathan Van Tulleken As New Helmer For Their Ambitious Cyberpunk Spinoff Series

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.

Welcome to 'Blade Runner' year, now where are my damn off-world colonies | Mashable

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

Posted on in News

Live-Action ‘Blade Runner’ Series In The Works & Might Land 10-Episodes

There was some expectation that after Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 landmark sci-fi film Blade Runner, we’d get more live-action stories set in that fantastic universe but when Blade Runner 2049 didn’t light the box office on fire that seemed to be put on ice.

Director Denis Villeneuve had teased interest in returning to the franchise tackling a new story that wasn’t a direct sequel to 2049. Eventually, an anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus from Japan was produced and recently debuted on WarnerMedia’s Adult Swim.

However, Ridley Scott has revealed a live-action Blade Runner series in the works at Alcon with the pilot written and is eyeing a 10-episode run. Scott mentioned this on BBC Radio 4’s Today this Monday.

“We’re already into having written the pilot for Blade Runner and the bible, so we’re already presenting Blade Runner as a TV show, which will probably be the first 10 hours.”

The original Blade Runner is loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electic Sheep? and was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. It’s considered one of the most visually striking films ever made.

We’re still in the dark about who is writing the pilot and if it’ll land at HBO Max or elsewhere. It’s also unknown if we’ll continue on Earth as Los Angeles has been the primary setting or if we’ll finally explore the multiple off-world colonies. One of the biggest mysteries of the franchise is what the off-colonies look like along with how Replicants are forced into labor and warfare.

I have to assume WarnerMedia would be involved given rights holders Alcon had Warner Bros. distribute Blade Runner 2049 and Black Lotus at Adult Swim. Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised By Wolves debuted at HBO Max’s launch and had been one of their most popular originals, leading to a season two order.

BLADE RUNNER – Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who’s been missing for 30 years.

SOURCE: BBC

Posted on in Television News

‘Blade Runner: Black Lotus’ Anime Series Taps ‘Matrix 4’s Jessica Henwick, ‘The Wolverine’s Will Yun Lee & More For Voice Cast

Alcon Entertainment and Crunchyroll had teamed together for an anime series that takes place within the cyberpunk universe of Blade Runner. The dystopian alternative future where man has created a disposable workforce with Replicants, artificial humanoids that are mainly used as slave labor, sex workers, and soldiers on the off-world colonies with a limited lifespan.

The show called Blade Runner: Black Lotus has seasoned Japanese directors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) working on all 13 episodes with Shinichiro Watanabe (The Animatrix, Blade Runner Black Out 2022, Cowboy Bebop) set as a creative producer.

Deadline now says the English and Japanese voice cast will consist of Jessica Henwick, Arisa Shida, Will Yun Lee, Shinshu Fuji, Samira Wiley, Takako Honda, Brian Cox, Wes Bentley, Josh Duhamel, Taiten Kusunoki, Peyton List, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Stephen Root, Hochu Otsuka, Barkhad Abdi, Takayuki Kinba, Gregg Henry, Masane Tsukayama, Henry Czerny, Akio Nojima, Jason Spisak and Kazuki Yao.

Here is a rundown of who they’ll be playing.

Henwick/Shida voice Elle, a female replicant created for a secret and unknown purpose. Lee/Fuji voice Joseph, a mysterious figure who owns a spare parts junkyard in Los Angeles. Wiley/Hona voice Alani Davis, a fresh LAPD recruit. Cox/Hashi voice Niander Wallace Sr, founder and CEO of the Wallace Corporation. Bentley/Koyasu voice Niander Wallace Jr, brilliant scientist working for his father. Duhamel/Kusunoki voice Marlowe, a deadly Blade Runner. List/Sakakibara voice Josephine Grant, the wife of the police chief. Root/Otsuka voice Earl Grant, Police Chief of the LAPD. Abdi/Kinba voice Doc Badger, a black market dealer. Henry/Tsukayama voice Senator Bannister, a politician with strong feelings on replicant production. Spisak/Yao voice Hooper, a journalist in the pocket of the Wallace Corporation.

While Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has teased a Blade Runner 3, there aren’t any concrete plans for a third feature film despite how well-received the last installment was.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Quentin Tarantino Says He Was Offered A ‘Sgt. Rock’ Movie That Had A “Magnificent” Script From ‘Blade Runner’ Screenwriter David Webb Peoples

Warner Bros. has been trying since 1980s to make a feature film based on the WWII era DC Comics hero Sgt. Rock, producer Joel Silver famously tried to get an incarnation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and if you look closely at the end credits of Predator, you can see cast members like Shane Black holding copies of Sgt. Rock.

Well, it sounds like one incarnation almost had a script from screenwriter David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiving, 12 Monkeys, Leviathan, Soldier) and his “magnificent” script almost convinced Quentin Tarantino get involved as he was offered it by the studio. Tarantino briefly mentioned the potential comic book film during a chat on The Big Picture podcast (via The Playlist).

“There’s a really good script that David Webb Peoples wrote for Sgt. Rock that I still think about doing that from time to time. I don’t think I will, but I think it’s a really magnificent script and I would do a good job with,” Tarantino told The Big Picture.

It’s been well established that the director is a huge comic book guy.

Quentin Tarantino has mulled over the idea of making a comic book project over the years, in the 1990s, he wanted to make a Luke Cage movie starring Laurence Fishburne and had been once offered another DC Comics property Green Lantern.

He was previously upfront that Marvel’s Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos was a huge influence on the Oscar-winning film Inglourious Basterds and there were a handful of Marvel Comics homages in Reservoir Dogs.

“A big influence on the Basterds was Marvel Comics’ Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos. That was definitely an influence on that flick,” the filmmaker told MTV News back in 2009.

There seems to be further nods in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood with Rick Dalton’s WWII action film The 14 Fists of McCluskey, as his character wore an eye-patch a possible wink to Nick Fury and there were Sgt. Fury/Kid Colt comics in Cliff Booth’s trailer.

SOURCE: THE BIG PICTURE PODCAST

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Lord of The Rings’ Standalone Anime Film ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ Heading To Theaters; Focuses On King Helm Hammerhand

Earlier this week, it was announced that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation would be teaming for a brand new anime film set within the fantastical world of Middle-Earth created by British author J.R.R. Tolkien. The project will explore the origin’s of Helm’s Deep and King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.

K̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶H̶e̶l̶m̶ ̶H̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶-̶E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶:̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶d̶o̶w̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶N̶a̶z̶g̶u̶l̶.̶ ̶O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶h̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶S̶a̶u̶r̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶H̶o̶b̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶R̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶n̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶o̶s̶.̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶N̶e̶w̶ ̶L̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶C̶i̶n̶e̶m̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶m̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

UPDATE: A producer on the project saw our original headline and has clarified on Twitter they won’t be taking the same liberties with Helm Hammerhand as the video game did and sticking to canon instead. Sorry, for the miscommunication.

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who is likely best known to folks in the west for his work on the series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood: The Last Vampire, and the series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which has yet to debut.

Below is some examples from Kamiyama’s work.

It’s script will be penned by The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’s Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens acting as a consultant.

Below is WarnerMedia’s official press release from this week.

Twenty years after delivering the award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the iconic books by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema has partnered with Warner Bros. Animation to produce an original anime feature directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama that will plunge fans into a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth and set the stage for the epic adventures brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. 

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.

With Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series) at the helm, the all-new standalone feature is being produced by Joseph Chou (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus” TV series) with Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”) penning the screenplay.  Oscar-winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, is serving as a consultant on the project.

Though a standalone story, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is being created as a companion piece to New Line’s “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, with story and artistic elements woven throughout that will reconnect fans to the excitement and cinematic wonder of Middle-earth.

Posted on in Film News

‘Blade Runner’: Jared Leto Still Wants To Reprise Villain Niander Wallace For A Prequel Project

Back in July, Jared Leto mentioned a desire to explore Niander Wallace‘s origin when interacting with a fan. Wallace was the puppet-master villain of Blade Runnder 2049 and runs the company that has taken over Replicant production from the Tyrell Corporation.

LETO: “Maybe we can do a Niander Wallace origin story one day. Would be interesting to see where this mad man came from. He must have had some history. I have some ideas…”

Jared is still very much interested in returning to Wallace while speaking with Jake’s Takes (spotted by The Playlist) this month.

LETO: “You know, with every character I play, I don’t know if it’s because I work so intently and I tend to dig really deep and put a lot of time and energy into it, but when I’m done playing with them, done playing the parts, I do miss them a little bit. And you do all this work anyway, it would be kind of nice to go back and explore other [characters]. Like Niander Wallace in Blade Runner, I would love to play that part again as a prequel or something.”

Wallace’s fate is unknown at the end of the film has he zipped off-world in a ship to one of the many human colonies. It could be interesting to see if he had a hand in those colonies and potentially the off-world wars that have been referenced in both movies.

Leto isn’t the only mulling over the idea of a return to the Blade Runner Universe, as director Denis Villeneuve told Empire last year he’d like to make a non-sequel that is disconnected to the first two movies.

VILLENEUVE: “It’s such an inspiring place, the Blade Runner world. The problem is have is the word ‘sequel’. I think cinema needs original stories. But if you ask me if I’d like to revisit this universe in a different way, I can say yes. It would need to be a project on its own. Something disconnected from both other movies. A detective noir story set in the future… I wake up sometimes in the night dreaming about it.”

The only official continuation of the franchise that has been in the works is an anime project for Crunchyroll and Adult Swim titled Blade Runner: Black Lotus with a debut sometime in 2021.

SOURCE: JAKE’S TAKES

Posted on in Film News

Jared Leto Wants To Return To The World of ‘Blade Runner 2049’ With An Origin Story For Villain Niander Wallace

Last week, actor Jared Leto took to Twitter suggesting that he’d like to return to the role of Niander Wallace, the overreaching villain of Blade Runner 2049. He seems to want to tackle an origin story about Wallace.

LETO: “Maybe we can do a Niander Wallace origin story one day. Would be interesting to see where this mad man came from. He must have had some history. I have some ideas…”

Wallace’s fate is unknown at the end of the film has he zipped off-world in a ship to one of the many human colonies. The villain is behind the latest version of the disposable workforce with his version of the Replicants. 

Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has teased in the past he’d like to return to the world of Blade Runner as well, but suggested he wouldn’t be interested in making another sequel. 

A Blade Runner live-action series might not be out of the realm of possibilities as Villeneuve is producing and expected to direct the pilot for the Dune spinoff series for HBO Max titled Dune: The Sisterhood and there is already an animated series set in the universe of Blade Runner coming soon with Blade Runner: Black Lotus. 

SOURCE: JARED LETO