After 35 years of science fiction history, Blade Runner 2049 is ready to pick-up where the world of the future left off. With 2019 serving as ground zero for Ridley Scott's famed adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, there's 30 years of history that have occurred between this new sequel and its predecessor. That means it's time for a history lesson, and the folks behind the film have created just that. Prepare for the Road to 2049.
Just in time to start hyping folks up for Blade Runner 2049, the new interactive timeline will be filling out the gaps between Rick Deckard and Rachel Tyrell's escape in 2019 and the recent exploits of Ryan Gosling's Officer K. K is one in a new line of Blade Runners who are tasked now, more than ever, with the job of retiring illegal Replicants. The difference between the 2019 order and 2049's best and brightest is that there's been a pretty big event that's shaken the world to its knees. It's called, "The Blackout", and it's pretty much exactly as the name entails.
With a gigantic EMP occurring on the West Coast of Blade Runner 2049's past into total chaos, data is corrupted and everything from government records to city infrastructure is crashed throughout the entire United States. Of course, while there's no official blame as to who executed such a maneuver in 2022, the overlying sentiment is that rogue Replicants were behind the event, leading to the prohibition of producing any further models past the Nexus 8 line. Developed in a bid to save the failing Tyrell Corporation, the company's fortunes were now sealed.
However, hope comes in the form of Jared Leto's Niander Wallace, a rich genius who saves the world from its food crisis, as well as the Tyrell Corporation, who at this point is bankrupt. By time the 2030's roll around, Wallace has done something that he shouldn't have: he's created the Nexus 9 line of Replicants, with the promise of obedience and zero defects. By 2036, the prohibition on the production of Replicants is officially repealed, and Wallace is able to roll out the Nexus 9's, while the LAPD's Blade Runners are now more important than ever.
The most interesting thing about the historical narrative that Road to 2049 timeline for Blade Runner 2049 weaves is that there's a blank spot that looks to be intentionally included at a year prior to the film's events. This may have something to do with a series of short films that Denis Villeneuve has talked up as filling in important historical gaps in the Blade Runner world, or it could be that the mystery that Officer K and Rick Deckard are pursuing happens to tie into whatever is open ended about that slot. After all, more recent spots have seen Deckard admitting to scrambling records as "part of the plan," whatever that plan may be. The world is teetering on the brink of chaos, and the secrets being hidden may just be the key to stability.
So much history has been condensed into so little space, and while we have a feeling this is most of what Blade Runner 2049 has to offer, there's still an obvious air of omission in the official records of this panic filled future. We'll just have to wait and see what the Road to 2049 has to show us, between now and Blade Runner 2049's October 6th release date.
