Amazon's Blade Runner 2049 Sequel Series Will Star A Proper Sci-Fi Legend

One of the biggest queens in all sci-fi is returning to the genre she helped legitimize. As much as fans (rightfully) heap praise on icons such as Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Fisher, and Linda Hamilton, may we never sleep on what Michelle Yeoh has done for science-fiction storytelling over the years. She certainly made her mark in Danny Boyle's "Sunshine," while going above and beyond in recent efforts like "Star Trek: Discovery," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," and, of course, "Everything Everywhere All At Once."

Now, she's getting ready to do her thing all over again in "Blade Runner 2099," a sequel series long in the works that finally seems to be inching closer to reality. The buzzy casting news comes courtesy of Variety, which reports that the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star has been cast in the Prime Video show that's meant as a follow up to both the original 1982 "Blade Runner" and the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel "Blade Runner 2049." We first heard about this production back in 2022, when it was announced that Ridley Scott would be teaming up with showrunner Silka Luisa to further flesh out this cyberpunk world full of insidious corporations, desperate replicants treated as second-class citizens (if that), and very large Coca-Cola ads. So, you know, nothing that's too different from our own reality.

While much of the plot for this new series currently remains unknown, Variety at least teases that Yeoh will play a lead role as a character named Olwen, who is apparently "a replicant near the end of her life."

Let's just put it this way: If Michelle Yeoh were to start monologuing about the things she's seen that we wouldn't believe before waxing poetic about tears in the rain, I'd sit my butt down and listen attentively. It's difficult to imagine an actor better suited to the sci-fi world of "Blade Runner," and thankfully the creative team behind "Blade Runner 2099" seem to agree. Yeoh has been flying high ever since winning Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars, and this new streaming series adds to a pretty packed slate that already includes future appearances in James Cameron's "Avatar" sequels, the "Star Trek: Discovery" spin-off movie about Section 31, and the upcoming "Wicked" musical adaptation.

As for "Blade Runner 2099," our biggest hint about the actual plot comes from the title itself — by all accounts, this will take place 50 years after the acclaimed 2017 sequel. Ridley Scott returns to the world he first created, though as an executive producer this time around. He'll be joined by executive producer and showrunner Silka Luisa (known for the Apple TV+ series "Shining Girls") and Jonathan van Tulleken ("Shōgun"), who'll direct the first two episodes.

No release date has been announced, but stay tuned to /Film for more information on "Blade Runner 2099."