MOVIE NEWS – In the world of Blade Runner, most animals have died out due to the polluted Earth, so almost all pets are actually replicants. The most famous replicant animal is Tyrell’s owl, which appeared in the first Blade Runner movie. Fans may know the owl, but they don’t know its astonishing secret.

Replicants are artificial life forms originally created by the Tyrell Corporation. Replicants were created as slaves for humanity’s space colonies, where they performed dangerous jobs. Contrary to popular belief, replicants are not androids, but similar to clones, that is, their bones, organs and vital functions are the same as those of humans, only grown in a laboratory. This also means that replicants are self-aware. This was done on purpose by Tyrell because he needed workers with problem solving skills to reduce the need for human supervision in the dangerous space colonies. However, ethical dilemmas also lie here. Although the idea was originally innocent and held hope and the prospect of immortality, it eventually turned into human rights atrocities.

In the Blade Runner 2029 comic, Mike Johnson and Andres Guinaldo take readers into the world of Blade Runner seven years after the Blackout wiped out nearly all traces of humanity’s archives, effectively giving everyone—including replicants—a clean slate. The original Blade Runner movie takes place in 2019, when Tyrell is killed by the rebel replicant Roy. This shocking event incited hatred towards the replicants, so a replicant ‘terrorist’ organization decided to cause the Blackout because it was the only way that the registered replicants would have a chance to survive.

Tyrell’s death accidentally caused one of the biggest knowledge regressions in human history, but interestingly, his memory shed light on the truth about the replicants. All replicants were given fake memories to make them look/feel more human, and one replicant in this comic was endowed with Tyrell’s memories. In these memories, readers see Tyrell burying his pet owl that died as a child, which led him to ponder the possibility of eternal life for non-organic creatures, which Tyrell decided to create. At this point, the owl became a symbol of Tyrell’s success in his quest to cheat death by creating life, and the replicant owl in Blade Runner is the physical embodiment of this symbol.

This addition to one of the most memorable aspects of the original Blade Runner is a real treat for fans, as it gives the visually stunning – but otherwise insignificant – scene the canon importance it deserves, as the replicant owl in Blade Runner has a surprising secret meaning associated with all replicants in the in franchise.

Source: ScreenRant