Cowboy Bebop Creator’s New Anime

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is considered a classic in the world of science fiction and it has had a profound impact on the medium since its 1982 release. Psycho-Pass, Ghost in the Shell, and Cowboy Bebop are just some examples of anime being influenced by the film.

Speaking of Cowboy Bebop, series creator Shinichiro Watanabe is creating an official Blade Runner anime that will lead into the movie’s sequel!

In a short announcement video, Watanabe says, “As an anime professional, the film that’s had the greatest influence on me has to be Blade Runner.” And now, he gets to work on an official project of his favorite movie!

Not a whole lot was revealed about the short anime’s story, other than a mass power outage on the American west coast prompts a ban on the production of Replicants (human-like androids).

The anime is going to explain the events between Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2029, but Watanabe assured fans that the anime would be a retread. He says, “There are two things I want to make sure of when making this anime. One is to treat the original Blade Runner with the utmost respect. The other is to make something that is not an imitation.”

Blade Runner Black Out 2022 is being produced by Cygames Pictures