Crunchyroll is announcing a new partnership with Adult Swim and Alcon Entertainment’s Alcon TV shingle to produce and distribute Blade Runner: Black Lotus. The move comes over a year since the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, the long-awaited continuation of Ridley Scott’s celebrated 1982 cult futuristic neo-noir thriller.
Producers confirmed the story will take place in the year 2032 and will include some familiar characters from the Blade Runner universe. This places the series between Watanabe Shinichiro’s Crunchyroll release, Blade Runner 2022, and Luke Scott’s Blade Runner 2036: Nexus Dawn, two of three shortfilms commissioned by Villeneuve to promote the 2017 movie that won seven awards from five organizations, including two Academy Awards in visual effects and cinematography. Harrison Ford starred in the original, and re-emerged to join frontman Ryan Gosling.
Sola Digital Arts (upcoming Ultraman) is housing the production with Aramaki Shinji (Appleseed) and Kamiyama Kenji (Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex) slated to direct all 13 half-hour episodes of the premiere season. Watanabe, best known for his indelible work as the mind behind hits like Samurai Champloo, and anime franchise Cowboy Bebop and its upcoming Netflix live-action series, is serving a creative producer. (Crunchyroll)