Blade Runner TV Show In the Works

11/22/2021 12:01 pm EST

According to Ridley Scott, who directed the original movie, a live-action Blade Runner television series is in the works. Ridley tells the BBC (according to Variety) that the pilot episode's script for the Blade Runner series (and the upcoming Alien series) already exists. The Blade Runner project's series bible is also already set, and there are plans for the story to span 10 episodes. "We [have already] written the pilot for Blade Runner and the bible," Scott says. "So, we're already presenting Blade Runner as a TV show, the first 10 hours."

News of the Blade Runner live-action project is new, though the anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus debuted on Adult Swim earlier this month. Scott said that the upcoming FX Alien series, helmed by Legion's Noah Hawley, is on a similar track. They've completed writing the pilot and the series bible, and the series will span 8-10 hours. FX announced the project in 2020, with FX boss John Landgraf confirming it is set on Earth and will attempt to blend the horror of Alien with the action of Aliens.

Based loosely on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner premiered in 1982. Directed by Scott and starring Harrison Ford as blade runner Rick Deckard, the film's theatrical cut saw a mixed reception. The director's cut of the film, released in 1992, earned near-universal acclaim, and Scott later tweaked the film further, releasing his final cut in 2007.

Blade Runner spawned tie-in media upon its initial release, including a novelization of the film and three sequel novels. Warner Bros. tapped into Blade Runner's franchise potential with the sequel movie Blade Runner 2049, directed by future Dune helmer Denis Villeneuve and released in 2017. A trilogy of short films preceded that film -- Blade Runner Black Out 2022, 2036: Nexus Dawn, and 2048: Nowhere to Run -- filling in some gaps between the original movie and the sequel. Since acquiring the Blade Runner license in 2018, Titan Comics has expanded the film series universe via comic books. Thus far, it's published the prequel series Blade Runner 2019, Blade Runner 2029, and Blade Runner Origins.

What do you think? Are you excited by the news of a live-action Blade Runner TV series? Let us know in the comments section. 

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