The first two episodes of Blade Runner: Black Lotus have dropped — and yes, it completely changes the history of Jared Leto’s character Niander Wallace Jr by introducing subservient replicants ahead of time.
A quick recap: The original Blade Runner mapped out a futuristic 2019 wherein “replicants,” that is, genetically modified humans, were illegal on Earth. As all bad things go, they were still being sold to military organizations and private companies to further their respective space colonization endeavors.
However, a terrorist attack called the Blackout destroyed properties that put an end to manufacturing replicants.
They would only come back after the Prohibition period that ended in 2036 when Niander Wallace Jr launched the Nexus-9 Replicant — a completely subservient type of replicant who would not even conjure rebelling against humans.
Now cut to Episode 1 of Black Lotus, where Elle overhears an advertisement outlining this very type of replicant, albeit not mentioning the name Nexus-9. What’s confusing is that Black Lotus is supposed to be set in 2032, four whole years before Wallace Jr introduces the Nexus-9 replicants.
If this change in detail did not trouble original fans, the next one surely will: In the Blade Runner 2049 canon, Wallace Jr had taken control over the Wallace Corporation in 2025. However, Black Lotus Episode 2 refutes this, stating that in 2032, Wallace Sr is still in charge of the company and disapproves of Niander’s overzealous ideas.
My only reasoning is that the Road to 2049 is no longer canon in the Blade Runner universe. Black Lotus is now set on establishing a new history for Niander Wallace Jr, which will align with Blade Runner 2049.
Black Lotus primarily focuses on Elle, a replicant who has lost her memories during the aftermath of the Blackout. Elle is yet to learn the purpose behind her creation, and since both Wallace Sr and Jr are a huge part of the cast, I’m sure Black Lotus will give us some interesting, new takes on the Wallaces.
It is left to be seen if this fresh take will sit well with long-time fans.
About Blade Runner: Black Lotus
Blade Runner: Black Lotus is the first animated series to be launched in the sci-fi Blade Runner universe. First announced at the San Diego Comic-Con 2021, the series is set in between the times of the first Blade Runner movie starring Harrison Ford in 1982 and its sequel Blade Runner 2049, released in 2017.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus is also based on the dystopian science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick, just like its previous counterparts. It stars Jessica Yu Li Henwick voicing the Replicant heroine, Elle, along with Stephen Root as the voice of Police Chief Earl Grant. While Brian Cox will voice Wallace Corporation CEO Niander Wallace Sr., and Wes Bentley, his son, Niander Wallace Jr.
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