House of the Dragon star Matthew Needham teases his 'cruel' Blade Runner 2099 replicant character

This past weekend, Prime Video debuted a brand new trailer for Blade Runner 2099, its upcoming dystopian cyberpunk limited series that expands on the universe of the iconic 1982 film by Ridley Scott. This new take jumps viewers farther into the future than ever before, with a daring turn on the classic Blade Runner formula. In every past iteration of the franchise, from Scott's original movie to Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and the animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, it's humans who rule the Earth, and the android replicants who struggle to eke out a living on the fringes. By 2099, the opposite is true. We're entering into the age of the replicant.

However, just because replicants have become the dominant beings on the planet doesn't mean all is well with them, either. From the trailer alone, it's clear many are still struggling with Blade Runner's most fundamental questions: are they truly living beings, and how can they coexist in the shadow of their human creators?

Starring Hunter Schafer as the human Blade Runner Cora and Michelle Yeoh as Olwen, a replicant living out her last days, Blade Runner 2099 sees these these two unlikely allies race against time to unravel a mystery that could lead to the collapse of their society. Of course, whether they're actually invested in keeping that society running at its current status quo is the sort of question that Cora and Olwen are likely to have very different answers for, which will probably change even further as they uncover the secrets they're chasing.

Yeoh and Schafer aren't the only notable actors involved in Blade Runner 2099, especially for fans of HBO's ongoing Game of Thrones film universe. This trailer gives us our first glimpse at Matthew Needham, who played Larys Strong in House of the Dragon and appears here as a replicant named Yahya. Needham was on hand at NYCC along with fellow cast members Yeoh, Schafer, Dimitri Abold, and Lewis Gribben, showrunner Silka Luisa, and executive producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. From his comments at Comic Con, it's clear that Blade Runner holds a special place in Needham's heart.

"I've been such a fan of Blade Runner. I mean, it's just the coolest thing ever really, isn't it?" he said. "And it's such a landmark film, the first one. There's sort of culture before Blade Runner and culture after it. So to be part of it was a no brainer."

Blade Runner 2099 is a "great detective story"

Despite the appeal of the franchise overall, Needham explained that it was the writing on 2099 which ultimately caused him to sign on to the series. He highlighted the "detective story" that drives the plot, which is music to the ears of this longtime Blade Runner fan.

"I'd say the thing that I was most excited about was just the script. I love a detective story, and this is a great detective story," he explained. "There's a really exciting, beautiful mystery at the heart of it. And there's also this huge philosophical debate going on around it that is about being human, and all the mysteries involved in that, tied up in this really taut, exciting thriller."

Needham's character Yahya, is a replicant who has a tense dynamic with Olwen. In short, Olwen has been calling the shots for her people for a long time, and Yahya is ready for that to change. Needham spoke a bit about their relationship at Comic Con, and it has me even more intrigued to see him acting opposite Michelle Yeoh.

"He feels very much in Olwen's shadow. Very much the junior partner," Needham said. "And I think he's a very powerful person, and I think he wants to be in charge, but every time he flexes he's kind of slapped down. So there's a begrudging respect, but I also think there's sort of a deep-seated animosity. And I think he's just counting down the days. He's quite cruel. He's sort of reminding her constantly that her time's over and his time is about to begin."

Those last comments take on a new light when you remember that Olwen is literally days away from dying. So the idea of her close subordinate constantly reminding her of this while she tries to navigate an extremely tense mystery already sounds like a very compelling set up for drama.

Yahya will also cross paths with Cora, as Needham and Schafer spoke about filming scenes together, and how the fact that "Yahya doesn't respect personal space" made for some memorable experiences on set.

"It's really fun to get in Hunter's grill, which I do a lot in the whole series," Needham said. "Hunter's so open and just willing to try anything." He recalled a scene early in the show, where Yahya was supposed to pull Cora's hair, and Schafer gave enthusiastic permission for Needham to actually go for it. "It was great," Needham said. "You can only really get that weird and into it with people if you trust them and like them."

With just over a month until the premiere of Blade Runner 2099, we'll likely be hearing more about the series soon enough. Before NYCC, I was barely aware that Needham was even in the series; now, I can't wait to see him alongside Schafer, Yeoh, and all the rest of the show's cast.

All eight episodes of Blade Runner 2099 drop November 25 on Prime Video.

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