‘Blade Runner – Black Lotus’ Anime in development.
It’s fitting that Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s profoundly impactful science-fiction masterpiece, is getting an anime series given its significant impact on Japanese animation. U.S. cable network Adult Swim is partnering with Alcon Television Group and anime streamer Crunchyroll to bring the new series to a worldwide audience.
The 13-episode series will take place in the year 2032, slotted in between the 2019-set Blade Runner and last year’s Blade Runner 2049. Titled Blade Runner – Black Lotus, very little is known about the anime but it’s said to feature familiar characters from the two films.
Kenji Kamiyama, who is directing the upcoming Ghost in the Shell series, will also helm Blade Runner – Black Lotus. Adult Swim has worldwide distribution rights to the English-dubbed version while Crunchyroll will handle worldwide streaming. An air date has not yet been set.
“I first saw Blade Runner in 1982, at age 11. It has remained one of the defining films of my life,” said senior VP and creative director of Adult Swim, Jason DeMarco. “To be able to explore more of this universe, with the incredible talent we have on board, is a dream come true.”
Blade Runner 2049 had some promo shorts released as part of its marketing campaign, one of which was a pretty solid anime titled Black Out 2022. With Shinichiro Watanabe behind both that short and the upcoming series as creative producer, the signs are promising that this could prove to be a really solid project.
Alcon Entertainment recently came to a deal with Titan Comics to launch a comic book series with Mike Johnson and Blade Runner 2049 screenwriter Michael Green on as writers. There’s a clear and concerted effort being made to expand the property, though it’s unclear if a second big screen sequel will happen following Denis Villeneuve’s sequel’s poor box office performance.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter