Editing Replicant (section)

=== ''Blade Runner 2049'' ===
The sequel, ''Blade Runner 2049'', is set thirty years after the original. In the intervening 30 years, several new replicant lines were introduced.

The sequel retroactively establishes that Rachael was part of a short-lived prototype line of replicants designated Nexus-7, which was not only intended as a test to make replicants more mentally stable with implanted memories, but also to develop replicants capable of procreation. Rachael died in childbirth in 2021, and the child was hidden by the replicant underground. Tyrell was killed during the events of the first film in November 2019, and the secret of producing replicants capable of procreation died with him. 

In 2020, the Tyrell Corporation introduced the Nexus-8 replicant, whose lifespans were not limited to four years. The Nexus-8 went into mass production, but a new wave of replicant rebellions occurred, culminating in rogue Nexus-8 replicants detonating a nuclear weapon in orbit over the western United States to create an [[electromagnetic pulse]]. The pulse destroyed most records about replicants, making it difficult for humans to track them down on Earth, but the attack led to mass purges and complete shutdown of Nexus-8 production (though many existing units were able to go into hiding in the chaos).  

In 2036, genetic engineer Niander Wallace designed a new line of Nexus-9 replicants. They also have an open lifespan, but were designed to be unable to resist orders given by a human. The demonstrated effectiveness of Nexus-9 programming, combined with the solving of a global food crisis, allowed for a successful push for the ban on replicant production to be lifted.  

By 2049, Nexus-9 replicants are extensively used across Earth and the off-world colonies. Special police units are tasked with tracking down any that might go rogue, as well as any remaining Nexus-8s still in hiding (Nexus-7 was never mass-produced, and all the Nexus-6 models died of old age decades before). These police units are once again called Blade Runners, but are now composed of self-aware replicants with implanted memories, though they are fully aware that they are replicants and that their memories are artificial.