2036: Nexus Dawn (2017)

Directed by: Luke Scott | 6 minutes | science fiction, short film | Actors: Jared Leto, Benedict Wong, Ned Dennehy, Ade Sapara, Ania Marson, Set Sjostrand

Leading up to ‘Blade Runner 2049’, three short cutscenes were distributed showing some key moments between the original ‘Blade Runner’ (set in 2019) and its sequel. Namely: ‘Blade Runner: Black Out 2022’ (director: Shinichiro Watanabe), ‘2036: Nexus Down’ (director: Luke Scott) and ‘2048: Nowhere to Run’ (again director: Luke Scott). The shorts have been added to the home video releases of the film for more depth.

The first of the two Luke Scott-directed shorts gives a look at Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) and in just six minutes answers the question of how the Wallace Corporation has become so big. In the intro, we learn that after the power outage of 2022, a ban on producing new replicants has been put in place. In addition, there was a great scarcity of food resources, because the ecosystem of the earth had become out of balance. Wallace has actually saved the world’s population from starvation with his research into genetically modified foods and has built up quite a bit of credit in the process.

But now Wallace wants to build a new generation of replicants, the Nexus 9. And since that goes against the ban, he is called to the UN. He appears before a group of important people, whose exact function is not made clear. By his side, Wallace brings one of the Nexus 9 replicants for demonstration. His promise: the Nexus 9 would rather kill itself than its master (man). And he demonstrates that in an unmistakable way.

The wise men and women are perplexed and seemingly give Wallace carte blanche for crafting his new generation of replicants. It’s a rather simplistic representation of things, which makes this short quite a bit of a squeeze. Still, Hampton Fancher, scriptwriter of both the original ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049’, has signed on for the story.

The appearance of the wise men and women also feels a bit forced. Almost all of them have bad skin or look unkempt in some way. Opposite is the almost divine Nexus-9. The contrast could hardly be greater. And that’s exactly the problem. It’s too thick on top. As a result, this short, although informative, is mainly a no-brainer.