Amazon's Blade Runner 2099 TV show has reportedly found its lead star in Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh.
According to Variety, Yeoh has signed on as the forthcoming Prime Video series' protagonist. Details are thin on the ground about who Yeoh will play, but Variety suggests she'll portray one of the franchise's replicants, who goes by the name Olwen, and whose life is nearing its end.
Yeoh recently starred in multi-Academy Award winner Everything Everywhere All at Once, as well as Netflix shows including The Witcher: Blood Origin and The Brother Sun. The fan-favorite actor is also known for starring in Marvel movie Shang-Chi, Crazy Rich Asians, Star Trek: Discovery, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yeoh, then, seems like a perfect fit for playing an emotionally complex character in Blade Runner's dense, action-filled, and sci-fi-driven world.
Michelle Yeoh will star in Amazon Prime Video's "Blade Runner 2049" sequel series "Blade Runner 2099." Plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources say Yeoh will play a replicant near the end of her life named Olwen. https://t.co/u8skUDdWbeMay 7, 2024
Yeoh's apparent involvement in Blade Runner 2099 is the latest news to emerge about the show as Amazon MGM Studios ramps up production on its next big sci-fi series. Until recently, the only information we had on the project, which will act as a sequel to Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, was that Amazon landed the rights – in September 2022 – to bring the series to Prime Video, aka one of the world's best streaming services. Amazon's acquisition came 10 months after Ridley Scott confirmed that a Blade Runner TV show was in development.
Now it appears that Blade Runner 2099 is powering up to enter full production. In February, Deadline claimed that Jonathan Van Tulleken, who helmed two episodes of Shogun – one of the best Disney Plus shows – had signed on to direct Blade Runner 2099's first two entries. Principal photography was expected to start in Prague in the Czech Republic in April, but Amazon hasn't confirmed that filming is underway yet.
I've reached out to Amazon MGM Studios for an official comment on Yeoh's reported involvement, as well as an update on whether filming has begun, and I'll update this article if I hear back.
Prime-d to be another sci-fi hit?
Apple TV Plus might be many people's go-to streamer for science-fiction television, and considering how good its lineup of sci-fi shows is – I count Foundation, Severance, Silo, and For All Mankind among the best Apple TV Plus shows around – that's not a huge surprise.
Amazon's own catalog of sci-fi genre fare, though, isn't too far away from giving Apple's a run for its money. From underrated offerings like Outer Range and Upload, to big hitters, such as The Expanse and recent runaway success in its Fallout TV show, some of the best Prime Video shows are also found in its sci-fi category.
The hope, then – at least from Amazon's viewpoint – is that Blade Runner 2099 can add its name to Prime Video's growing list of top-tier sci-fi offerings. Understandably, we won't be able to see if it can or not until the series is released; but, with the likes of Yeoh and Tulleken seemingly attached to the project, plus Amazon's recent successes in the sci-fi TV show field, its streaming division will be confident of giving its sci-fi library an meaningful upgrade when Blade Runner 2099 eventually debuts.
