Just ahead of its October 27th release date in Japan, Blade Runner 2049 will have an animated prequel short film directed by none other than Cowboy Bebop's own Shinichiro Watanabe.
News of the tie-in hit Japanese news sites early Friday morning. An English translation of the report is below:
Director Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) is directing an animated short tie-in to the Blade Runner 2049 film, which opens in Japan on October 27. The short is titled "Blade Runner Black Out 2022."
The anime will take place in the year 2022, between the original Blade Runner film, which takes place in 2019, and its sequel Blade Runner 2049. The story will involve a large power outage on the west coast of the United States.
Watanabe is writing the script in addition to directing. Cygames Pictures, the anime studio subsidiary smartphone game publisher Cygames established last year, is producing the animation. Shukou Murase (Halo Legends, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) is serving as character designer and animation director, and Flying Lotus is composing the music.
The cast includes Kenichirou Matsuda as Iggy, Ichigo Aoba as Trixie, and Makoto Furukawa as Ren.
In addition to the initial news, a short video clip featuring animation tests and character designs was uploaded to YouTube.
Denis Villenueve's Blade Runner 2049 is scheduled for an October 6th release date here in the States and stars Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright and Jared Leto. No word yet if the companion piece, Blade Runner Black Out 2022 will see an American release.