Michelle Yeoh Says You Can Skip Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ Before the Prime Video Sequel [Exclusive]
Sep 12, 2026
This October will mark nine years since Denis Villeneuve brought theatergoers back to the cyberpunk future of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner universe with his sequel, Blade Runner 2049. Fortunately, the gap between the 1982 sci-fi classic and that film will not be replicated with its next installment. Prime Video is set to debut its new limited series, Blade Runner 2099, this November, and with it, the scales between humans and Replicants will once again tip. 50 years after Ryan Gosling’s Officer K uncovered a secret that threatened to upend the rest of human society, Replicants now run the world, oppressing the humans that once enslaved them. There is always a need for Blade Runners, though, and Michelle Yeoh will be the latest star to don the title and hunt down any rogue artificial beings.
2099 will be a return to the shadowy, futuristic Los Angeles and further build on the ideas and history of Scott’s film. However, nothing so far has indicated a direct connection to its predecessors, like 2049 had with the story of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford). The story primarily centers on Olwen (Yeoh), a Replicant Blade Runner whose time is quickly running out, and her partner Cora (Hunter Schafer), a human fugitive trying to keep her secret by posing with one of the most dangerous disguises possible. United in their search for a gang of rogue Replicants, they’re both trying, in a sense, to outrun their respective fates. Not only was it created by Silka Luisa, with some direct input by Scott, to be a one-and-done, but according to Yeoh, it’s also meant as a standalone Blade Runner story. In an interview with Steve Weintaub at the Collider Media Studio for her new film The Surgeon at the Toronto International Film Festival, Yeoh was asked what most intrigued and excited her about Blade Runner 2099 after seeing more of the finished product. For her, the sheer accessibility of the story was a surprising highlight. While she previously assured that longtime fans would be satisfied with this depiction of the world, there’s no need to know who Deckard and K are, what a Replicant is, or what Los Angeles has been through in the years before to become invested in the complicated story between two characters facing long odds in a life built against them.
“I think the most interesting thing I’ve heard so far is that even if you’ve not watched the first two movies — because in this new generation, the younger audience might not have watched the first one — you would understand because of the way the story evolves. And I think the complication between the two characters, between Hunter [Schafer] and myself, it’s… Say no more. [Laughs]”
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz
Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most?
Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
Star Wars
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Game of Thrones
Star Trek
FIND YOUR UNIVERSE →
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?
Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me.
BThe journey itself — the places I’ll go, the companions beside me, the world I’ll discover on the way.
CLearning — unlocking what I’m capable of, understanding the world’s hidden mechanics, growing into something more.
DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me.
EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?
The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force.
BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges.
CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned.
DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation.
EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?
The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don’t have to.
BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road.
CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge.
DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt.
EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn’t require a body count.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?
Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together.
BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road.
CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway.
DAllies whose loyalty I’ve earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now.
EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
What is your relationship with power?
How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
AI want to use it to protect — and I’m terrified of what I might become if I’m not careful.
BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up.
CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it.
DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me.
EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
How does your universe treat good and evil?
A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal.
BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it.
CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both.
DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency.
EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
What role would you naturally fall into?
Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act.
BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything.
CThe student — not yet who I’ll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs.
DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it.
EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future?
The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible.
CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try.
CThat love and friendship and doing what’s right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise.
DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it.
EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.
REVEAL MY UNIVERSE →
Your Universe Has Been Chosen
You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You’d find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Middle-earth
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
The Wizarding World
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Westeros · The Known World
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
The United Federation of Planets
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
Michelle Yeoh Felt a Warm Welcome From the ‘Blade Runner’ Fandom
Yeoh is already a well-respected veteran with a strong sci-fi resume, previously starring across the first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, appearing in Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s haunting thriller Sunshine, and winning her first Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yet, adding Blade Runner to her resume still felt daunting. “It was scary,” she told Weintraub about her experience taking the stage at San Diego Comic-Con for 2099 over the summer. “It really was.” Years later, Scott’s film remains in very high regard, and 2049, while not quite the box office success hoped for at the time, has only reinforced the series’ reputation. Knowing how many people have been waiting for Amazon’s series for years, Yeoh felt a lot of pressure appearing publicly with the first footage. Her fears were unfounded, though, as she’s felt nothing less than a warm reception from the audience and genuine enthusiasm for this new story in the Blade Runner world since.
“‘Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just 7,000 people out there. Be good.’ You’re like, ‘Thank you. Alright. I’ll do my best.’ But we had fun at the end of the day because the audience is so warm. They really wanted us to be there. They really wanted to see it. We showed the trailer and some of the clips from the series, and it looked pretty brilliant.”
‘The Surgeon’ Brings Yeoh Back to Her Action Roots
Image via TIFF
Blade Runner hasn’t been Yeoh’s only on-screen occupation of late. The Surgeon will world premiere at TIFF tomorrow as part of the event’s Centerpiece section, casting her as a retired medical professional brought in for one final operation that is nothing like what she could ever expect. Before she can even settle into life beyond the hospital, she’s kidnapped by a gang of criminals and forced to operate under pressure on one of their members in dire condition, but rather than heal, she must use her expertise to hurt and turn the tables on her captors. Directed by The Resident creator and actual doctor, Roshan Sethi, it marks Yeoh’s return to action cinema years after Supercop and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with a strong supporting cast around her, including Martin Freeman, Laurie Davidson, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Joseph Mydell, and more.
Blade Runner 2099 premieres on Prime Video on November 25. Stay tuned here at Collider for further updates and for more news out of TIFF as the festival continues.
Release Date
2026 – 2027-00-00
Network
Prime Video
Showrunner
Silka Luisa
Publisher: Source link
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