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Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe Directs Blade Runner Anime Short
posted on by Karen Ressler
Director Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) is directing an animated short tie-in to the Blade Runner 2049 film, which opens in Japan on October 27. The short is titled "Blade Runner: Black Out 2022."
Sony Pictures Japan began streaming a preview showcasing some designs and animation tests for the short.
The anime will take place in the year 2022, between the original Blade Runner film, which takes place in 2019, and its sequel Blade Runner 2049. The story will involve a large power outage on the west coast of the United States.
Watanabe is writing the script in addition to directing. Cygames Pictures, the anime studio subsidiary smartphone game publisher Cygames established last year, is producing the animation. Shukou Murase (Halo Legends, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) is serving as character designer and animation director, and Flying Lotus is composing the music.
The cast includes Kenichirō Matsuda as Iggy, Ichigo Aoba as Trixie, and Makoto Furukawa as Ren.
The sequel to the 1982 film starring Harrison Ford will open in the United States on October 6.
Source: Anime! Anime! (高橋克則)
