‘Blade Runner 2049’ Prequel: Learn About Motives of Jared Leto’s Villain in New Short (Video)

A total of three shorts will be released before the movie hits theaters

There’s a huge gap between the first “Blade Runner” and the upcoming “Blade Runner 2049.” Luckily, viewers will get a glimpse at some key events.

A new short, titled “2036: Nexus Dawn,” was put on YouTube Tuesday, as a Collider exclusive. It takes place in the years before “2049” but after the first “Blade Runner,” which took place in 2019.

In the seconds before the short begins, “2049” director Denis Villeneuve explains that he asked some of his artist friends to film the stories that fill in the 30-year gap. One of these friends was Luke Scott (“Morgan”), who directed “2036.”

The video focuses on Jared Leto’s character Niander Wallace, who walks into a business meeting looking to get the prohibition on replicants lifted. The law was put into place in 2023 after a massive EMP detonated on the West Coast, which was blamed on replicants. The people in the room also make reference to the first film.

But Wallace has a plan and may have already gone through with a new line of replicants, which he demonstrates.

We’re expected to get two more shorts before the film hits theaters.

You can watch the full short above. “Blade Runner 2049” hits theaters Oct. 6.

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