Blade Runner Black Out 2022 Anime Short Film Hits CrunchyRoll

The release date for Blade Runner 2049 is getting closer, and that means the replicants are getting restless. Previously announced, an anime prequel of sorts to the continuation of the classic science-fiction noir tale has been released.

Crunchyroll has the short anime film titled Blade Runner Black Out 2022, and it was just released this morning! You can check it out on Crunchyroll right now.

Here is the trailer that was released, in case you’re curious:

Blade Runner Black Out 2022 is directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, of Cowboy Bebop fame. According to the film’s official timeline, an electricity failure on the west coast of the US leads to cities shutting down, financial and trade markets being thrown into chaos, and dwindling food supplies. There’s no proof as to what caused the blackouts, but the Replicants are blamed, of course.

Watanabe has said the original Blade Runner by Sir Ridley Scott influenced his work more than any other in his anime profession, making him the perfect director to tackle the ambitious project.

Needless to say, this dystopian cartoon is whetting our appetite for Denis Villeneuve‘s upcoming Blade Runner sequel film, due out on October 6th, 2017.

You can check out the previously released prequel shorts for the movie featuring Jared Leto and Dave Bautista, respectively, here and here.