Commentary by Sam Hudecki and Daryl Henley

Titan Books, out now

 

A celebration of Blade Runner 2049’s storyboards through rarely-seen artwork that was key in building the environments in the film.

Following Titan’s The Art and Soul of Blade Runner 2049 (November 2017) and follow-up Blade Runner 2049: Interlinked – The Art (August 2020), this storyboards tome completes an impressive collection of production content from Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 sequel to the Ridley Scott classic.

As the director says in the foreword, he adjusts his movie screenplays after seeing the storyboards, such is their key role in the film-making process. Canadian Sam Hudecki has been storyboarding for the director since Enemy, and on this occasion worked collaboratively with cinematographer Roger Deakins (who would win an Oscar for his work).

Hudecki was joined on this movie by fellow storyboard artist Daryl Henley, and they both annotate their many detailed illustrations in this volume, sharing what the scene’s intention was, how it might have changed along the way, and how it compared with the final movie. We discover things like Joi’s original name (Shee) and get to look at a different ending for one character and a coda that didn’t make the final cut.

Verdict: From Sapper’s farm to Vegas to the Seawall, we get to enjoy the genesis (and genius) of Blade Runner 2049’s storyboard visionaries, in a typically impressive hardbound volume of quality art paper. Replicant nirvana. 9/10

Nick Joy

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