Blade Runner 2049 Prequel Short Films Announced, Watch The First Here

The upcoming sequel Blade Runner 2049 picks up 30 years after Ridley Scott's 1982 classic Blade Runner. To promote the movie--and to fill in some of the gaps in the story--a trio of short prequel films are being released.

The first is titled 2036: Nexus Dawn, and is now online. It's directed by Scott's son Luke and provides us with some backstory about Niander Wallace, the sinister scientist played Jared Leto. Check it out below, with an introduction from 2049 director Denis Villeneuve:

This latest promo follow a stylish new trailer that was released earlier this month, which focused on the plot than some of the earlier teasers.

In a recent interview with Slashfilm, Villeneuve revealed one of the main reasons that he decided to take on the remake. "I said to myself, 'They will do it. No matter what we think, the studio will move forward and will make it.' I don't know if I'll succeed, but I know I will give it all my love and all my skills," he said. "I will work so hard. I didn't want it to fall into the hands of someone that wouldn't. I was afraid to see a sequel to Blade Runner, but I said, at least if I do it, I will have some control over it. At least then I can blame only myself."

Villeneuve went on to explain that he hoped to match the original film in terms of tone and pacing. "There was a melancholia in the first movie, a nostalgic feeling of loneliness and existential doubt," he said. "A kind of inner paranoia about yourself that I wanted to keep alive in the second movie. I wanted to keep the film noir aesthetic alive, as well. That was very important.

"A certain kind of pacing, too. It's still made in the rhythms of [today's] movies, but I tried my best to keep that tension alive. Ridley told me that it touched him because I was able to extend that atmospheric quality that the first movie had."

Blade Runner 2049 also stars Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, and Robin Wright. It hits theaters on October 6, 2017.