'Blade Runner' Universe to Get New Tie-In Comics and Graphic Novels

Blade Runner is regarded to be one of the most unique science-fiction franchises in recent decades, and it looks like the film's world will soon be explored even more.

Alcon Media Group and Titan Publishing are officially partnering up to publish new media set within the Blade Runner universe. According to their joint statement, the partnership will feature both fiction and non-fiction print media.

The program will include canonical comics and graphic novels set within the Blade Runner universe, as well as publications about the franchise's behind-the-scenes production. Editorial duties will be taken over by Titan's David Manley-Leach and Alcon's Jeff Conner.

"In partnering with the exceptional Titan Comics and Titan Books, we're confident that the world of Blade Runner will continue to organically grow in a way that refuses to sacrifice the quality, tone and high standards of this beloved property," Alcon co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said in a statement.

"We are extremely excited to be publishing Blade Runner comics and illustrated books," said Titan publishers Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung. "The Blade Runner universe has barely been explored; there is so much more there. It's an honour to be bringing this world to life in new ways for a new audience – and to reveal tales from that universe that you've never seen before."

The initial Blade Runner, which has been regarded to be a cult-classic within the science fiction genre, drew inspiration from Phillip K. Dick 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The film followed Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a "blade runner" who is sent on a mission to track down several missing androids. The original film did briefly earn a comic adaptation, which was published by Marvel in 1982.

The franchise was expanded upon last year, with the release of Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049. The Ryan Gosling-led sequel revisited Deckard decades later, while further expanding on the larger Blade Runner lore. The film was critically loved, but ended up underperforming at the box office.

"For me, what terrorizes me right now is what I'm doing is taking Blade Runner and making it my own, and that is horrific," Villeneuve said in an interview back in 2016. "To realize that when I look at the dailies, it's not Ridley Scott, it's me, and that it's different. It's still the same universe, we are still in the same dream, but it's mine, so it's like I have no idea how you people will react, I don't know. It has its own life."

The release of 2049 also included several prequel short films, including the anime-inspired Blade Runner Black Out 2022. As those shorts arguably proved, there's certainly a lot of canon that these new Blade Runner comics could end up exploring.

Are you excited to see these Blade Runner comics and graphic novels become a reality? Let us know what you think in the comments below.