Blade Runner 2049 captures the cyberpunk idea of “low life and high tech”. The technology in this world isn’t used to help people but to control them. Despite the LAPD tower looming over the city, there is no government. A rich industrialist controls the city, gaining enormous power from synthetic farming. In the rain-soaked, neon-lit streets below, replicant cop K (Ryan Gosling) searches for his purpose and identity while ‘retiring’ his own kind. The film raises important questions about the ethics of creating sentient beings only to oppress them. It reflects real-world issues like artificial intelligence, exploitation, inequality and the power held by a wealthy elite.
World-building strengthens these themes, showing a decaying, industrial future.
The city is dark, with light only coming from huge holographic ads for real brands. This stands in stark contrast to the shiny, golden corporate spaces. Despite the grim portrayal, K’s journey of self-discovery provides a small hope that individual choices and kindness can lead to a better future. If an android can break free from its programming, perhaps we can overcome the grip of technology and big corporations.
Building Blade Runner 2049
Wētā Workshop built the detailed ‘bigature’ sets to create the futuristic Los Angeles. Cinematographer Alex Funke filmed these scaled sets, capturing the look of real surfaces and lighting. Each of the 38 models took about a week to construct, paint and weather. Art director Steven Saunders described these miniatures as “a composition of tiny vignettes” that form a rich visual world. According to Funke, this world shows that “technology and commerce have moved on, but everybody else has been left behind.”
A major challenge for the film was to evolve the iconic world created in the original Blade Runner (1982). Its famous cyberpunk landscapes were built using miniatures, and BR2049 continued this painstaking process. Director Denis Villeneuve wanted to “film the world in a practical way,” using real effects to ground the futuristic visuals.
For the sequel, digital cameras and motion rigs replaced some of the older methods, but the technique was still precise. The 38 miniature buildings in the cityscape were scaled and hand-painted, featuring great attention to detail – right down to tiny graffiti and worn window frames. Layers of paint, hairspray and other aging techniques gave the buildings a lived-in look. Blending these practical models with digital effects created an illusion of depth and history in every shot, enhancing the cyberpunk atmosphere.
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Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Previously on display
27 April 2025
ACMI: Gallery 4
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Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
197180
Curatorial section
The Future & Other Fictions → S2: Worldbuilding, Resistance & Revolt → Blade Runner 2049