Prime Video’s upcoming limited series Blade Runner 2099 is moving toward a 2026 release date, marking the latest chapter in a franchise that has spanned more than four decades. The series, led by Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer and produced by Alcon Entertainment and Scott Free Productions, completed a significant portion of its production in Prague in 2024, with brief additional shooting in spring 2025.
For the Czech capital, the project represented one of the most technically demanding international TV shoots in recent years, continuing a trend of large-scale sci-fi and fantasy productions selecting the city for its crews, infrastructure, and adaptable urban locations.
While Amazon MGM Studios had initially targeted a late-2025 rollout, the show’s timeline shifted following the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes, which halted production across much of the industry. According to Amazon’s Laura Lancaster, the series—now deep into post-production—will arrive on Prime Video in 2026. The updated premiere date extends anticipation for one of the highest-profile projects filmed in Prague over the past decade.
The series follows the 2017 feature Blade Runner 2049, itself a continuation of Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner from 1982. With returning producers and a new creative team led by showrunner Silka Luisa (Halo), Blade Runner 2099 aims to expand the franchise’s world-building through long-form storytelling—while also capitalizing on Prague’s ability to stand in for futuristic urban environments.
A large-scale investment in Prague
When Blade Runner 2099 arrived in Prague in 2024, it joined a growing roster of international projects using Czech locations and studio facilities for ambitious genre storytelling.
The project shot at Barrandov Studio and multiple exterior sites across the capital, supported by Czech stunt teams, set builders, and visual-effects partners. Crews constructed large-scale environments to recreate the franchise’s signature neon-soaked dystopia, combining practical sets with digital extensions handled during post-production.
Prague has become a reliable hub for high-budget sci-fi productions, in part because its architecture can be adapted to futuristic settings without extensive digital modifications. The city previously hosted segments of large-scale films such as The Gray Man and Extraction II, and Blade Runner 2099 continued this pattern by using both historic and industrial districts to evoke an atmosphere consistent with the franchise’s visual identity.
According to local industry sources, the production employed hundreds of Czech crew members during peak shooting periods, contributing to one of the busiest years for Prague’s film industry since the pandemic. The series spent an estimated CZK 1.8 billion (around $86 million) in the Czech Republic.
Beyond the logistical draw, the project benefitted from the Czech Republic’s cash rebate incentive, which has been increased in 2025 and continues to attract large international productions despite periodic capacity pressures. For Czech craft departments—from costume fabrication to prosthetics and atmospheric effects—the scale of Blade Runner 2099 offered rare long-term contracts and opportunities to work within a globally recognized franchise.
While details of the storyline remain under wraps, the cast list signaled an ensemble-driven narrative. In addition to Yeoh and Schafer, the series features Dimitri Abold, Lewis Gribben, Katelyn Rose Downey, and Daniel Rigby, with Johnny Harris, Amy Lennox, Sheila Atim, Matthew Needham, and others in recurring roles.
Despite wrapping principal photography nearly a year ago, Amazon has het to release full production details or any promotional material for the series.
Creative leadership and industry anticipation
Blade Runner 2099 brings together a broad slate of producers with experience across science fiction, prestige drama, and franchise world-building. Showrunner Luisa, known for her work on Halo and Shining Girls, leads the writing and production team.
She is joined by Alcon Entertainment co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Alcon Television President Ben Roberts, and executive producers Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and Clayton Krueger from Scott Free Productions. Tom Spezialy, Richard Sharkey, Michael Green, Cynthia Yorkin, Frank Giustra, and Isa Dick Hackett also serve as executive producers, underscoring the project’s scale and the involvement of key creative figures across the franchise’s history.
Director Jonathan van Tulleken (Shogun) helmed the first two episodes and serves as an executive producer, setting the series’ visual palette and narrative tone—elements that will likely draw from the atmospheric style established in earlier Blade Runner installments. With the series now in post-production, teams are focusing heavily on visual effects, world design, and soundscapes, all essential components of the franchise’s identity.
Industry observers note that the project’s extended post-production timeline aligns with the franchise’s visual expectations. Both Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 were known for their meticulous effects work, and the transition to episodic storytelling does not appear to lessen the technical demands.
Lead photo: Hunter Schafer for Angel Elixir by Mugler / Blade Runner 2099 set in Prague’s Žižkovský tunel by Prague Reporter
