Here’s the story behind the film’s spectacular vision of technology.
When Blade Runner hit theaters in 1982, it painted a vision of 2019 that was as horrifying as it was artful. Concept designer Syd Mead’s bleak dystopia, bathed in neon and perpetually drenched in rain, was filled with artifacts and futuristic tech alike. The movie’s sets were imaginative and detailed, immersing us in its utterly foreign yet familiar world. Blade Runner 2049 does the same. The film itself is visually sumptuous–compensating for the comparatively shallow story line–thanks to a small army of visual effects artists and designers responsible for realizing director Denis Villeneuve’s vision of the future, which includes an absurdly real CGI rendition of Rachael, a replicant from the 1982 original.