Blade Runner is a big deal for me. I haven’t even explained in full why it is, nor how deeply it has impacted my life. But trust me, it’s a big deal for me. When Blade Runner 2049 came out last year, it changed my life the way the first film did. The book is my favorite book. The 90’s point and click adventure game on PC was my favorite 90’s point and click adventure game, etc..
So I was pretty excited to learn today that there is an anime series on the way. Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, and Alcon Entertainment are collaborating to bring us the 13-episode series inspired by Blade Runner 2049. It will be directed by none other than Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s Kenji Kamiyama and Appleseed’s Shinji Aramaki. And, as if that weren’t enough, Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichirō Watanabe will be the series’ creative producer.
The series, entitled Blade Runner: Black Lotus, will take place in the year 2032, obviously placing it in between Blade Runner 2049 and Blade Runner: Blackout 2022, the 15-minute anime prequel film to 2049 which was directed by Watanabe. The series is said to contain familiar characters.
And that’s pretty much all we know about it. No information has been revealed as to its storyline or release date. But we know it will happen sometime after Aramaki and Kamiyama finish up their reboot of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
The English dub of the show will be played on Adult Swim’s Toonami block, while the subtitled version will be available on Crunchyroll.