“Blade Runner 2049” (2017) is largely an exercise in returning to the world of “Blade Runner” rather than significantly expanding the narrative. No surprise then that the three short prequel films – which can be found on YouTube – have the same philosophy.
Narratively, the more things change, the more they stay the same in the “BR” world: Nexus designations may change, the conflict between humans and replicants may flare and fizzle, but the problems remain.
“Blade Runner: Black Out 2022”
The 15-minute anime “Blade Runner: Black Out 2022” chronicles this universe’s equivalent of “Terminator’s” Judgment Day (or “Dark Angel’s” Pulse, if you want to get nerdier). Iggy Cygnus (Jovan Jackson) and Trixie (Luci Christian) make up one cell of Nexus-8 terrorists who launch nukes to wipe out humanity’s power grid, thus erasing digital records from before this time – which will cause problems for K’s investigation in “2049.”
Trixie is reminiscent of Pris, a pleasure model with gymnastics and martial arts skills, whereas Iggy is a soldier who no doubt saw similar things to Roy Batty. In flashbacks, he endures a “Forever War” type of battlefield existence.
This film throws a bone to blade runner Gaff (Edward James Olmos), who has otherwise been largely ignored by “Blade Runner” sequel materials, but even here he only gets a cameo.
“Black Out” is written and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, and it was good enough to greenlight the TV series “Blade Runner: Black Lotus,” scheduled for a 2021 debut.
“2036: Nexus Dawn”
The other two installments are 6-minute live-action pieces from director Luke Scott (son of Ridley) and “2049” writers Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. “2036: Nexus Dawn” will be of interest to collectors of weird Jared Leto performances.
He sits in a chair and plays Niander Wallace, the next iteration of Tyrell, who illegally develops a Nexus-9 (Set Sjöstrand).
Wallace’s backroom conversation with bureaucrats (led by Benedict Wong) reveals that he controls a lot of the food supply and therefore has leeway with laws and a say in lawmaking.
Interestingly, he arguably has the moral high ground here as he orders the Nexus-9 to kill himself – to the horror of the lawmakers who legally support that action but are appalled when it’s carried out.
“2048: Nowhere to Run”
The best of the three shorts is “2048: Nowhere to Run,” simply because it allows us to wallow in those famous dirty neon L.A. streets.
“Guardians of the Galaxy’s” Dave Bautista stars as Sapper Morton, a put-upon replicant who probably gets by on these mean streets by being gigantic and by not revealing his status as a Nexus-8.
Sapper wades through a purple-lit nightclub, sells small critters to a vendor (Gerard Miller) for a price he’s not thrilled with, and then beats up a couple of thugs who were attacking a mother (Orion Ben) and daughter (Gaia Ottman) he is fond of.
You don’t need to watch these films to understand the story of “2049.” The point is to spend more time in this world, and on that count, a 27-minute investment in the “Blade Runner” shorts is worth it.