This 'Blade Runner 2049' Prequel Short Has Dave Bautista Waxing Philosophical And Wrecking Dudes

Admittedly, I enjoy movies with large, sprawling mythologies that don’t always stick to the confines of what we see on screen in a theater. I also often enjoy promotional build up to movies that do things a little differently, that add context or additional value to the movie. What I don’t like is when that same supplementary material becomes required reading for said movie. I don’t know that this is the case for Blade Runner 2049, but with a new prequel short, it’s starting to feel that way. (You can read my more in-depth thoughts on the matter HERE.) That said, it’s still pretty cool. Check it out below.

I mean, come one, it's Dave Bautista waxing philosophical about Graham Green’s The Power and the Glory in a dystopian sci-fi future, then wrecking dudes who mess with his friend. (How come the big, good-hearted, scary monster dude always befriends a little urchin girl?) What’s not to like about this video?

Luke Scott (Morgan), son of original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott, once again takes the helm for this, the second of three coming shorts that digs into the years before Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. That’s fine. After all, 30 years have passed on the timeline and there are big gaps to fill.

Like I said, I don’t mind that, but I don’t want this to become Alien: Covenant, where the prequel short delivered information vital to the coherence of the movie. I’m not saying this does, but it does have one bit that may be spoiler-y.

I haven’t seen Blade Runner 2049, but POTENTIAL SPOILERS may lurk beyond. I don't know, but tread cautiously.

From this short, it definitely appears Dave Bautista’s character, Sapper, is a rogue replicant living incognito. That’s been a theory since the earliest trailers, but this more or less confirms it. I don’t know how big a part that plays in the larger narrative, if it factors in at all, or if Sapper even has more than a minor role. Maybe it’s of little or no consequence. Maybe the first thing we learn about Sapper is that he’s a replicant. That may very well be the case, but it feels like a questionable choice to reveal that at this juncture.

That said, despite my misgivings, I plan to watch the hell out of the next short. This is basically me venting in a public forum, and I’m still jacked up for Blade Runner 2049 to open on October 6.