‘Blade Runner 2099’ Eyeing Jodie Comer to Star, Jeremy Podeswa Directing the Pilot
Following a series order by Amazon Studios back in September, the Ridley Scott executive-produced series Blade Runner 2099 is picking up some momentum at Prime Video.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Jeremy Podeswa has been confirmed to be directing the pilot episode of the series, serving as executive producer as well. Moreover, according to film reporter Jeff Sneider on last week’s episode of The Hot Mic with Jeff and John, Amazon could be looking at Jodie Comer to play the lead role in the series, which will act as a sequel of sorts to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049.
Comer starring in the series makes perfect sense. She’s a well-established TV actress, with four seasons of Killing Eve now behind her (the series that put her on the map for most people), and has also worked with Ridley Scott on The Last Duel, plus she was supposed to be in Napoleon before a scheduling conflict got in the way. Actress and director/producer probably felt like they both missed out on another chance of working together, and Scott might have thrown her name in the mix as a result for Blade Runner 2099.
Podeswa is also a prolific TV director who has worked on six episodes of Game of Thrones (including the season 7 premiere and finale), and last year directed three episodes of Station Eleven. Directing the pilot of Blade Runner 2099 will help the series establish an overall look and feel that will then be followed by other directors in subsequent episodes. The story will be set 50 years after Ryan Gosling’s K’s adventures as a replicant in dystopian San Diego, and could follow — or at least mention — some of the plot threads left hanging by the third act of Blade Runner 2049.
The Blade Runner IP has so far delivered a classic of the sci-fi genre that influenced many films, books, and video games over the past few decades, plus a modern masterpiece in 2049 that was definitely the best film in the genre in a very long time, possibly even surpassing the original. Ridley Scott is very busy at the moment, overseeing many new projects from IPs he originated (Blade Runner, Alien…), as well as deep into post-production of his upcoming Napoleon. He’s also in the middle of pre-production for the hotly anticipated Gladiator sequel, which is picking up more and more steam as days go by. He will be shooting that this year.
Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) is the showrunner, with Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049 scribe) serving as a non-writing executive producer. Tom Spezialy is part of the writers’ room as well. The series will likely go into production this year, aiming for a 2024 release on Prime Video. Stay tuned as more details are revealed.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
