Blade Runner 2099 will portray a future in which replicants hold power and humans take on the menial work once assigned to them. Showrunner Silka Luisa says the series will also explore the potential benefits of that shift, including efforts to repair Earth’s damaged environment.
Speaking at WIRED World Fair in Miami on Wednesday, Luisa described the show as a story about life after a replicant revolution. Rather than concentrate on present-day anxieties, she wants to show the “Silver linings” of a world run by replicants. In the series, they use skills developed while working for humans to help bring the planet back from ecological collapse.
Set 80 years after the original Blade Runner and 50 years after Blade Runner 2049, the limited series follows Olwen, a replicant Blade Runner played by Michelle Yeoh, as she searches for rogue agents. Hunter Schafer plays Cora, a human who pretends to be a replicant to survive. The show is scheduled to premiere on November 25.
Schafer said the role also gave her the chance to take on action scenes for the first time. She described the work as physically demanding and praised Yeoh, her co-star, for supporting her during the fight scenes.
Luisa said the series draws on environmental themes from Blade Runner 2049, while aiming to offer more hope than the franchise’s familiar dystopian outlook. She also distinguishes its replicants from the AI systems people are focused on today, describing the characters as closer to humans.
Sources: WIRED.