A new short film, titled 2036: Nexus Dawn, has been released by Collider ahead of the highly-anticipated Blade Runner 2049. The first of three shorts (made by a series of different directors), the video stars Jared Leto as Neander Wallace and hopes to fill in some of the blanks in the Blade Runner timeline.
The original film ended ambiguously in 2017 when Deckard fled Los Angeles with the replicant Rachael. These shorts hope to bridge the gap between the original and the upcoming Blade Runner 2049 by telling stories set in-between the timeline. 2036: Nexus Dawn, which is directed by Luke Scott (Ridley Scott’s son), takes place 12 years after the EMP detonation that led to the outlawing of replicant production in the year 2036.
The creepy sci-fi short reveals that Leto’s character is some sort of a mad scientist who holds patents to agriculture-related biotech that saved the world from starvation. He is also obsessed with creating life and is working on a new replicant called Nexus 9.
For those who missed it, the filmmakers revealed a timeline at Comic-Con earlier this year:
2019: Blade Runner Rick Deckard flees Los Angeles with a replicant named Rachael.
2020: The Tyrell Corporation introduces a new replicant model, the Nexus 8S, which has extended lifespans. (Dave Bautista plays one of these Replicants in 2049.)
2022: An EMP detonation causes a global blackout that has massive, destructive implications all over the world.
2023: A replicant prohibition is put into effect.
2025: A new company, Wallace Corp., solves the global food shortage and becomes a massive superpower.
2030: Replicant prohibition is repealed.
2049: Life on Earth has reached its limit, and society divides between replicant and human.
