Niander Wallace is called to a hearing about his desire to manufacture a new generation of replicants. Wallace is warned that what he is doing is illegal and not open to debate, which Wallace questions saying they are debating it. Wallace points out that Earth's ecosystem is collapsing and the only thing that can sustain the human race is cheap labor provided by replicants. He also claims the new replicants are not dangerous to humans, but the lawmakers remain unconvinced. To prove this, he orders his replicant assistant, a newly developed
Nexus-9, to purposely cut himself and then decide between Wallace's life and his own. The replicant then cuts his own throat, shocking the lawmakers. Wallace once again asks them if they are willing to authorize the production of new replicants.
Chinese prologue The Chinese version of the film features a text-based prologue. The text explains that replicant production had been banned after "The Blackout" in 2022, leading to the bankruptcy of the Tyrell Corporation. Earth's ecosystem has been on the brink of collapse since the mid-2020s. Niander Wallace, the blind CEO of the Wallace Corporation, is explained to have acquired the Tyrell Corporation and begun to develop a new generation of replicants to serve as slaves to help rebuild the Earth's environment. This prologue also appears before the Chinese version of the
Blade Runner short film
2048: Nowhere to Run. == Cast ==