2019

From Off-world: The Blade Runner Wiki

2019 is the year where the events of Blade Runner take place. The specific month, November, is given after the opening titles and crawl of the movie have played.

The city of Los Angeles of 2019 is depicted as an technologically advanced society. Automobiles called Spinners are able to fly above the streets which are clogged with people, shops, cafes, clubs. Dominating the skyline are the twin pyramids of the Tyrell Corporation, skyscrapers and smokestacks of countless factories. Additionally, large blimp-like vehicles float above the streets promoting life in the "off-world" colonies now that travel to worlds other than Earth is possible. The sky appears consistently overcast and rain, possibly "acid" rain, falls regularly.

By 2019, the Tyrell Corporation has introduced the science of "replication"; the engineering of human-like androids. Most "Replicants are manufactured for manual labor purposes in the off-world colonies. However, Replicants have proven to be dangerous to humans and have been declared illegal on Earth. At the core of the film's story is the attempt by a small group of Replicants to return to Earth to extend their genetically engineered four year life span.