Horrifying Blade Runner short film serves as prequel to 2049

2036: Nexus Dawn, directed by Luke Scott, shows us a key moment in history between the original Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.

With Blade Runner 2049 hitting theaters October 6, you might be wondering what's been going on in the 30 years since the last film ended. The original Blade Runner ended ambiguously in 2017 when Deckard fled Los Angeles with the replicant Rachael. Now you can watch a short film called 2036: Nexus Dawn, directed by Luke Scott, who helmed the 2016 horror film Morgan. Nexus Dawn focuses on one, key meeting between biotech magnate Neander Wallace (Jared Leto) and some officials.

We're getting a feel for Wallace's fragility and hubris here. Though he's appeared as a builder of replicants in the 2049 trailers, it wasn't clear who he was or how he fit into the story. Now we know he holds patents to some kind of agriculture-related biotech that saved the world from starvation. Wallace is also kind of a classic mad scientist, obsessed with creating new life. He shows the people at this meeting the Nexus 9, a new kind of replicant that lives as long as his human owner desires and will never disobey orders or run away.

At Comic-Con last month, the filmmakers revealed what happened between the two films in a quick chart projected onscreen:

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