Michelle Yeoh brings Blade Runner to 2099 and returns to Busan

Michelle Yeoh called taking Blade Runner to 2099 “indeed an amazing journey” while speaking on Wednesday at the Busan International Film Festival, Variety reported.

The new show is Blade Runner 2099, a Prime Video limited series, meaning a drama told in one closed season. All eight episodes arrive on 25 November.

Yeoh stars as Olwen, a replicant Blade Runner nearing the end of her life. In the world of Blade Runner, a replicant is an artificial human, and a Blade Runner is the officer sent to hunt rogue replicants.

Her partner is Cora, played by Hunter Schafer. Cora is a mysterious new recruit who pairs up with Olwen, and Yeoh said working with Schafer was “a great joy”.

Yeoh also named Silka Luisa as the showrunner, the lead writer-producer who guides a series day to day. Short sentences help here. The pair lead the next chapter.

The Busan visit had extra weight. Yeoh received the festival’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the opening ceremony. It was her first trip to Busan in 15 years, after attending in 2011 with The Lady, and it followed an honorary Golden Bear in Berlin earlier in 2026.

She was in Busan with two projects. Alongside Blade Runner 2099, she brought It’s My Time, her return to Chinese-language cinema, which she also produced. The film is directed by Bai Xue.

In it, Yeoh plays Zhao Yanhong, a nursing-home resident in her 70s who finds a gift for the Rubik’s Cube. No verdict here. The role is a long way from flying squads and starships.

Asked about directing herself, Yeoh said she will stay with acting and producing. She is “not able to rise to that”, she said.

For fans, this means a short wait. The full run drops at once in late November, so Olwen and Cora’s story can be watched in one go.