For the longest time, Blade Runner 1982 was the only one of its kind. Of course, you'd get a new version every so often to keep you drooling, but it's still basically the same one movie. The movie invented the tech noir genre and made it great because of that beautifully brooding aesthetic and score. It's very noir, but in a futuristic setting. It offers some interesting questions on what it is to be human, and the cast rocks. It's a perfect movie, so it makes sense why sci-fi nerds love it so much. There really wasn't anything else like it.

Come along 2017 and a sequel hits. Did the original need a sequel? Not really. It's an open and shut story, but eventually, everything gets a sequel. So how do you compete with the original classic? Easy. Get the original gang back together and magic shit happens.

I rewatched 2049 since I must have been obliterated when I first watched and remembered nothing about it. But... I thought it was pretty great. It honors the original, but it also has its own flavor and does something new. Artsy, interesting tech themes, more good android/human philosophy, and some great (even tense) scenes. Ryan Gosling made good use of his emotions and lackthereof. Harrison Ford also had plenty of time to emote, so he got to do a bit more "acting" rather than merely rely on his bad-ass presence. For a sequel so late in the game, it had a lot to live up to. I think it did a good job.


It was around the development of Prometheus (2012) that Ridley Scott renewed his interest in sci-fi. He pushed the idea that Alien existed in the Blade Runner universe, which would put a lot of crazy thoughts into anybody's head. Of course, Blade Runner was also known to have Soldier (1998) as a sequel of sorts. Set in the same universe apparently, but not blatantly made mention of in any way. That one dealt with one of the off-world communities that Blade Runner's Los Angeles-centric stories only talk about. It's not a bad movie, so I don't mind this connection, but it seems rather erroneous. The Alien relation seems cool, but it doesn't strike me as definite. Especially when you throw in AvP stuff into the mix, which would then include Predator, so it gets a bit jarring. Either way, these are mostly theoretical connections. Unless the story is directly about Blade Runners, then it isn't part of the strict canon.

Amazon just announced that they're making a "Blade Runner: 2099" series. This is 50 years after Part 2, so none of our core characters should be alive at that point. (This is also the same year as a lot of Marvel comics based on future rehashes of popular characters, like "Spider-Man 2099").

So what kind of mind-blowing sci-fi can they pull? Haven't they covered all the good topics by now? Will I even care? I'm not sure I like the idea of something I love getting milked dry in an ongoing series. The first sequel came out about 35 years after the first. Is it too early to dive into that well again?