‘Blade Runner 2099’ Moves Forward At Amazon, Jonathan Van Tulleken Steps In To Direct
The long-in-development Blade Runner 2099 live-action series is gaining some momentum at Amazon. It looked like there was an opening for the show to start filming last year, when Jodie Comer was in talks to star and Jeremy Podeswa signed on to direct. But Comer eventually moved on and the strikes delayed production for an entire year. Now, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
According to Deadline, Shōgun‘s Jonathan van Tulleken will be replacing Podeswa and direct and executive produce the first two episodes of the series. The project has moved on from its original Belfast location and is apparently setting up shop in Prague, the Czech Republic. Apparently, an April production start is planned.
The story wil be a continuation to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, though from what we can tell, the director is not involved with the story or the project at all. In turn, Ridley Scott, who directed 1982’s Blade Runner and executive produced the 2017 follow-up, will EP the Prime Video series.
Silka Luisa is writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Michael Green, writer on 2049, is a non-writing EP on the series. Alcon Entertainment, which has the rights to the IP since 2011, also EPs through its co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, as well as its head of TV, Ben Roberts.
No plot details have surfaced, and we still don’t know who’s starring in the project. Last year, it was speculated that Comer had perhaps passed due to scheduling with Fantastic Four, as she was rumored to be the top choice to play Sue Storm. Whether that was true or not, we don’t know, but Vanessa Kirby will be portraying the role in the MCU now. Regardless, if it was a scheduling issue, the strikes messed around so much with everyone’s schedules that she’s perhaps now available, when a year ago she wasn’t. She will next be seen in Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders.
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.
