Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve (via Collider) has revealed “2036: Nexus Dawn,” the first of three “in-world” short films that will fill in the gap between the events of Blade Runner, which took place in 2019, and the new series installment. Luke Scott, son of Blade Runner director and 2049 producer Ridley Scott, helmed the short project, which stars Jared Leto as villain Niander Wallace and Doctor Strange actor Benedict Wong. The short film is described as follows:
Wallace introduces a new line of “perfected” replicants called the Nexus 9, seeking to get the prohibition on replicants repealed.
Check out the short film, complete with an introduction by Villeneuve, below…
Interestingly enough, Luke Scott also directed a prologue and several other short videos for his father’s most recent directorial outing, Alien: Covenant. Last year saw him directing Anya Taylor-Joy and Kate Mara in his feature film debut, the little-seen and poorly received horror-thriller Morgan.
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Blade Runner 2049 is set for release on October 6th and sees Harrison Ford reprising the role of Rick Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto and Edward James Olmos.
Originally published August 29, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
