Blade Runner 2099 may have found its co-lead.
We recently got word that Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) had been cast as one of the two female leads in Prime Video's sci-fi series, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' Hunter Schafer is rumored to be in talks to join her.
According to reliable insider Daniel Richtman, the Cuckoo and Euphoria star looks set to play Cora. The previously-released plot synopsis revealed a little about this character (could she be a former Blade Runner?), who will join forces with a Replicant named Olwen (Yeoh).
"In Los Angeles 2099, Cora lived her entire life on the run, a chameleon forced to adopt numerous identities. To secure a stable future for her brother, she assumes one final identity and is forced to partner with Olwen, a Replicant who’s confronting the end of her life. The two are pulled into a widening conspiracy that poses an existential threat to a city that’s fighting to be reborn."
Filming is expected to commence later this month.
Shōgun director Jonathan van Tulleken was recently tapped to helm and executive produce the first two episodes. He replaces Jeremy Podeswa, who was originally set to direct before being forced to step away due to a scheduling conflict.
Amazon Studios and Alcon Entertainment are developing the project, with the original sci-fi classic's director, Sir Ridley Scott, on board as an executive producer. Silka Luisa (Shining Girls) will serve as showrunner.
"The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers," Amazon Studios Head of Global Television Vernon Sanders said in a statement back when the show was announced. "We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors."
Alcon co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson added, "Audiences first discovered Ridley Scott’s brilliant vision for Blade Runner 40 years ago, and since then, it has become one of the most influential science-fiction films of all time. Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up sequel, Blade Runner 2049, then became one of the best reviewed sequels of all time."
With such a lengthy time-jump between this series and Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049, it's highly unlikely that Harrison Ford will reprise the role of Rick Deckard. Ryan Gosling is a possibility, although his Replicant character appeared to die in the closing moments of the 2017 sequel.
This doesn't mean he couldn't return, of course, but It seems far more likely that the series will introduce a brand-new cast of characters with minor ties to the movies.
What would you like to see from Blade Runner 2099? Drop us a comment down below.