Blade Runner Is Getting An Anime Series

All those moments will be animated in time…

Adult Swim, anime streaming service Crunchyroll and Alcon Television Group have announced they are collaborating on a new anime series set in the Blade Runner universe. Entitled Blade Runner — Black Lotus, the series will consist of 13 30-minute episodes and will be produced by Sola Digital Arts, who are also working on the new Ultraman anime coming to Netflix next year.

Though details on the plot are currently scarce, it has been confirmed that the series will be set in 2032. This places it after the original 1982 film Blade Runner, which was set in 2019, but 17 years before last year’s Blade Runner 2049. Some characters from the Blade Runner universe will also appear, but it is currently unknown who or in what capacity.

Blade Runner — Black Lotus is not the first anime set in the Blade Runner universe. Watanabe also wrote and directed short film Blade Runner Black Out 2022, which was released last year.

Based on the short story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner told the story of Rick Deckard, a cop tasked with hunting down escaped androids, destroying them, and having an existential crisis. Deckard returned in the sequel Blade Runner 2049, which continued to follow the androids’ fight for freedom and his garbage fire of a life, so it’s possible that he could appear in the new series.

Blade Runner — Black Lotus’ first season will be directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, who are also both directing the Ultraman series. Both have previous experience directing sci-fi anime, Aramaki having worked on Appleseed while Kamiyama directed Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. 

Shinichiro Watanabe will act as a creative producer, and previously directed widely lauded anime series such as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop. Earlier this week it was announced that he will also be acting as a consultant on Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation.

Blade Runner — Black Lotus’ release date has not been announced, however the series will be made available worldwide on Crunchyroll.