Creators of Blade Runner 2049 Animated Prequel Are Making a Full Series

If you loved the anime prequel to Blade Runner 2049, this one is for you. Adult Swim announced today they will air an entire animated series inspired by last year’s sequel to Blade Runner. Let the replicant mind games begin.

Remember when Denis Villeneuve released those three shorts to bridge the gap between Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049? The gorgeous, yet grisly Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 was a knockout and spellbinding to watch. Both 2036: Nexus Dawn and 2048: Nowhere to Run were live action, so the anime short clearly stood out. That same animation company, Sola Digital Arts, has been hired to create full series Blade Runner – Black Lotus.

Shin’ichiro Watanabe directed the short Black Out 2022, but Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama will take over directing duties for all 13 episodes of the show. The directing duo is currently working on a Ghost in the Shell reboot. Watanabe will still be on board as a creative producer, so expect for that beautiful style to greatly influence the series.

“I first saw Blade Runner in 1982, at age 11. It has remained one of the defining films of my life,” said Jason DeMarco, senior VP/creative director of Adult Swim on-air. “To be able to explore more of this universe, with the incredible talent we have on board, is a dream come true.”

No synopsis has been released yet, but it has been set in 2032. That’s a year that has not yet been represented in the Blade Runner canon on film. Expect for some familiar characters to appear as it falls between time periods we’ve already seen.

If you want to plan ahead, be looking for Black Lotus to premiere on Toonami. That’s between 9 pm and 4 am on Adult Swim. If you’re outside of the US, never fear. Crunchyroll will make the episodes available for streaming.

Featured Image: A monstrous Joi (Ana de Armas) as a hologram out on the streets of L.A. Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.