The ongoing writer’s strike is causing Blade Runner 2099 to push back filming as negotiations still haven’t settled to allow writers to get back to work. The live-action series was picked up by Amazon Prime Video back in 2022 and had planned to begin filming at Northern Ireland’s Belfast Harbour Studios.
In an announcement, Northern Ireland Screen said:
“Northern Ireland Screen is extremely disappointed that Blade Runner 2099 is not going ahead at this time due to the ongoing writers’ strike. The project has been prepping on the ground in Belfast for many months now. The WGA strike has been halting production all over the world and we hope a fair deal is reached soon so crew can get back to work,” said Chief Executive Richard Williams.
The original Blade Runner is loosely inspired by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, written by the phenomenal science fiction master Philip K. Dick. The name was inspired by a William S. Burroughs novella. The film spawned a number of sequels and now must take pause as it waits out the writer’s strike.
Blade Runner 2099 takes place fifty years after the events of Blade Runner 2049. Ridley Scott will serve as executive producer of the series in addition to Silka Luisa, who is also the show’s writer.
While you wait for Blade Runner 2099 to premiere, check out other Amazon Prime Video selections based on the works of Philip K. Dick. Electric Dreams is a sci-fi anthology series that debuted in 2018 starring Richard Madden, Bryan Cranston, and Steve Buscemi.
Another popular adaptation of his work, The Man in the High Castle, focuses on a dystopian America dominated by nazis in which a mysterious film may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes. It stars Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, and Rufus Sewell, and is also available on Amazon Prime Video.