Jonathan van Tulleken, who directed the first two episodes of FX’s Shōgun, has been invited to direct and executive produce the first two episodes of another high-profile series, Blade Runner 2099, from Prime Video.
Tulleken will replace Jeremy Podeswa, who was originally slated to direct the first two episodes but was forced to step down due to scheduling conflicts as the production schedule for Blade Runner 2099 changed due to strikes in the film industry, transmits Deadline.
The series was scheduled to shoot last summer in Belfast. In May, a few weeks after the writers’ strike, it became known that due to the work stoppage, the production of «Blade Runner 2099» was postponed, probably until the spring of 2024. Northern Ireland Screen said at the time that the project had been «preparing on the set in Belfast for many months».
In October, it became known that the filming was moving from Belfast. Since then, the series’ studio, Alcon, has set up production in Prague, which has been able to attract producers of major sci-fi series for streaming, including «Foundation» on Apple TV+.
Filming of «Blade Runner 2099» is scheduled to begin in April. Alcon Entertainment and Scott Free Productions are producing, with Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1982 Blade Runner, serving as executive producer. The series will be a direct sequel to the 2017 sequel «Blade Runner 2049», directed by Danny Villeneuve.
Silka Louise is the writer, executive producer and showrunner of the series. Michael Green, who wrote the script for Blade Runner 2049, is executive producing alongside Alcon co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon’s head of television Ben Roberts, David W. Zucker and Clayton Krueger with Scott Free, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra and Isaiah Dick Hackett. Tom Speziali, who was part of the show’s writing team, is also an executive producer along with Richard Sharkey.
In 2011, Alcon acquired the rights to produce prequels and sequels to the 1982 sci-fi thriller «Blade Runner» for film, television and ancillary franchises. Since then, Alcon has financed and produced «Blade Runner 2049», as well as the recent «Blade Runner: Black Lotus», an anime series that debuted in 2022 on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll.
Van Tulleken also recently served as director/executive producer of The Changeling on Apple TV+. He is repped by WME, Grandview and Independent.