Shogun director Jonathan Van Tulleken will helm the first two episodes of Blade Runner 2099, which starts shooting this April.
We may not be getting a big-screen sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, but the saga will continue on Prime Video with Blade Runner 2099. Production on the live-action series is gearing up to start in April, but Deadline reports that a new director has been tapped to helm the first two episodes of Blade Runner 2099.
Game of Thrones director Jeremy Podeswa was originally tapped to helm Blade Runner 2099 but had to exit over scheduling conflicts. Deadline reports that Jonathan van Tulleken has signed on to replace him. In addition to directing the first two episodes of the sci-fi series, he will also serve as an executive producer. He recently came off directing the first two episodes of FX’s upcoming Shōgun series and has previously helmed episodes of Misfits, Trust, Upload, and The Changeling.
Blade Runner 2099 was originally slated to start shooting in Belfast last summer, but the Hollywood strikes put a stop to that. The push also found the series moving out of Belfast in favour of Prague. Shining Girls creator Silka Luisa is the writer, showrunner, and executive producer of the series. Original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is also onboard as an executive producer through his Scott Free production banner.
“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Amazon Studios head of global television Vernon Sanders when the project was announced in 2022. “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.“
“We are delighted to continue our working relationship with our friends at Amazon. And we are beyond excited to continue to extend the Blade Runner canon into a new realm with the provocative storyline that Silka has created,” Alcon Entertainment co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said. “Audiences first discovered Ridley Scott’s brilliant vision for Blade Runner 40 years ago, and since then, it has become one of the most influential science-fiction films of all time. Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up sequel, Blade Runner 2049, then became one of the best-reviewed sequels of all time. So, we recognize that we have a very high bar to meet with this next installment. Together with Silka and our partners at Amazon, and Scott Free Productions, we hope that we can live up to that standard and delight audiences with the next generation of Blade Runner.“
While I’m disappointed that we won’t get to see Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 follow-up, I am curious to see what the Prime Video series will bring.