Prime Video Is Reviving 2 Iconic '80s Sci-Fi Franchises (& They're Completely Different)

Published Oct 5, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.

With Severance, Silo, Pluribus, Foundation, and For All Mankind, Apple TV has become to go-to place for prestige science fiction on television. Between a dystopian work-life balance and an oddly benevolent alien invasion, Apple’s streaming library is full of fiercely original, deeply thought-provoking sci-fi shows.

But a different streamer, Prime Video, is quietly creeping up on Apple and hoping to usurp its throne. Prime has brought the Fallout games to the screen in a surprisingly coherent, linear drama. They brought back cyberpunk in the brilliant but short-lived one-season wonder The Peripheral. They explored a chilling alternate history where World War II turned out differently in The Man in the High Castle.

Amazon is currently hard at work bringing two of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of the 1980s to the small screen. Prime has a Blade Runner sequel series, Blade Runner 2099, set to premiere its eight-episode first season on November 25, and a RoboCop reboot in deep stages of development.

Prime Video Is Reviving Blade Runner With A Sequel Series & Robocop With A TV Remake

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

Blade Runner and RoboCop are two diametrically opposed franchises — one is a subtle, nuanced, esoteric neo-noir, while the other is a big, explosive, blood-soaked action extravaganza — and Amazon is taking a very different approach to its revivals of both. Blade Runner 2099 is a direct continuation of the story told in Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, set within that canon, whereas the RoboCop show will be a remake starting from scratch.

There are merits to both approaches. Following up the Blade Runner movies with a direct sequel will allow the series to explore new territories and expand on familiar themes, but it does risk undermining the legacy of those cinematic classics. Remaking RoboCop from scratch gives the showrunners a chance to start fresh, but it could end up being unfaithful to the original tone, like the last remake. RoboCop’s movie reboot was a surprisingly solid sci-fi actioner, but it lacked the satirical bite of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 masterpiece.

There’s some very tantalizing filmmaking talent behind the camera on both shows. Blade Runner 2099 was created by Silka Luisa and it’s being executive-produced by Ridley Scott himself, while the RoboCop series is being written by Peter Ocko and exec-produced by James Wan. Wan has made some dreary, self-serious genre fare, but he’s also done plenty of campy, silly, over-the-top stuff, like Malignant, so I’m sure he can pull off the signature RoboCop satire.

Blade Runner 2099 Vs. Robocop: Which Prime Video Revival Is More Exciting?

I’m excited for both Blade Runner 2099 and the RoboCop show, but which one is more promising? Blade Runner 2099 is much further along, so we have trailers and posters and interviews to drum up excitement for that one, whereas RoboCop has only just been ordered to series. Everything we’ve seen about Blade Runner 2099 has been promising so far. Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer are two incredible lead actors, the “sunshine noir” aesthetic is a nice visual change of pace from the previous films (while still having its feet planted firmly in that unmistakable Blade Runner world), and the story is flipping the initial conceit on its head.

In the Blade Runner movies, replicants are second-class citizens. But Blade Runner 2099 takes place in the aftermath of a successful replicant uprising, so the replicants have taken control of society and humans have become the second-class citizens. That’s a perfect premise for the spinoff: it’s familiar enough that it still feels like Blade Runner, but different enough that it feels fresh and new.

The casting of Dan Stevens as Alex Murphy is a huge point in RoboCop’s favor; he’s got the right blend of everyman charm and wildman eccentricity that this role requires. However these two shows shake out, Prime Video is clearly coming for Apple’s sci-fi crown.