Philip K. Dick and the Art of ‘Vague’ Worldbuilding (Blade Runner 2049/Man in the High Castle)

Blade Runner 2049 represents the very best of the litany of sequels we are seeing to movies from the 1980’s and 1990’s. Some have been straight up awful like Ghostbusters (2016), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). Others have been solid but still haven’t lived up to the legacies of the originals. The sequel Star Wars trilogy in particular comes to mind as films that really squandered the opportunity of getting Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher back together. Overall the sequels felt like a weird reboot/rehash of the franchise, much like Ghostbusters in 2016.

I excitedly anticipated Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, despite the poor run of sequels to popular old movies that released in the 2010's. But I had the lingering feeling that I would be disappointed walking out the theatre, as I had been with the latest Star Wars instalments.

To my surprise, I was left completely satisfied with Blade Runner 2049 and it exceeded all my expectations. It quickly shot into my top 10 films of all time, and upon further reflection it may be in my top 3.

Something Dennis Villeneuve nailed was the world building in the film. It feels both familiar to the Los Angeles of the 1982 film (with all its racially…