The beloved cult classic that is Blade Runner didn’t fade away after 2017’s Blade Runner 2049. That world continues to live on in the trifecta of short films that have come out ever since, as well as the upcoming Blade Runner: Black Lotus anime series that just got fresh new trailers.
After Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve paved the way for a series of prequel shorts: the animated Black Out 2022, 2036: Nexus Dawn starring Jared Leto and Benedict Wong, and 2048: Nowhere to Run starring Dave Bautista. Blade Runner: Black Lotus takes fans back to tech-noir Los Angeles, only now from the perspective of a rogue replicant named Elle.
Black Lotus will be directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, produced by Sola Digital Arts, and it’s set to premiere this November 14 on both Adult Swim and Crunchyroll. The Black Lotus animated series will be primarily voiced by Japanese actors, although the English version will be the one airing on Adult Swim with back-to-back episodes before adopting a weekly run to round off all 13 episodes.
If early impressions mean anything then the 3D animated style in either one of the two trailers doesn’t lose out on any of those Blade Runner vibes that have inspired so many creative minds. However, the partnering companies went the extra mile to release a preview of the show’s opening theme song, which happens to be Alessia Cara's “Feel You Now” and feels oddly at home in the cyberpunk city.
Blade Runner's legacy was fondly remembered this year at the Oscars by Rick Deckard himself when Harrison Ford read out some of the movie’s first studio notes, right before presenting the award for best editing. Villeneuve, who currently has the much-awaited Dune releasing worldwide, has spoken about the pressure behind directing the sequel to such a classic and age-defining movie, though Blade Runner 2049 is just as loved by many due to how it distinguishes itself from the original.
Nevertheless, Black Lotus is not all the Blade Runner fans can look forward to, as Nightdive Studios, famous for its restoration and remasters work, is currently working on an enhanced edition of the 1997 Blade Runner game. While that might be delayed for a while, there are still plenty of other cyberpunk games out there that aren't Cyberpunk 2077.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus will premiere on November 14, 2021, only on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll.