Cowboy Bebop creator and general anime legend Shinicihro Watanabe is releasing BLACK RUNNER: BLACK OUT 2022, an animated prequel short to the upcoming Blade Runner 2049.
“As an anime professional, the film that’s had the greatest influence on me has to be Blade Runner,” he says in the short video below (as translated by SoraNews 24). “When I was presented with the opportunity to work on this, I knew it was something I definitely wanted to do.”
As you can surmise from the title, the short film will bridge the gap between the original film’s 2019 setting and the 30 years that have passed before the upcoming sequel.
It’s due to be released on 26 September 2017, in anticipation of the October release of Blade Runner 2049. You can check out the ‘making of’ video below, along with a few key screenshots of the work in progress.
