A new short film tied to Blade Runner 2049 is now available for your viewing pleasure. It's the second of three prequel stories commissioned by director Denis Villeneuve that connect Ridley Scott's original film to this year's sequel; be sure to take a look at this previously posted prequel story here. This new short film, directed by Luke Scott, focuses on the backstory of Sapper, a gentle giant of a character played by Dave Bautista.

As the short shows, in 2048, Sapper is doing his best to leave his old life behind while struggling to make ends meet in the present. Bautista is fantastic in this brief look; he's given a rare chance to actually act rather than just be comic relief or a mass of muscle. That's not to say he doesn't get to engage in some action, however, since you don't cast a man of Bautista's physicality and experience without taking advantage of it. Plus, this prequel sheds some light on the nature of Sapper and how the character connects to the events of 2049. (And as a side note, I much prefer this sort of original and progressive storytelling as movie marketing, as opposed to the tired trend of spoiling much of a movie in endless clips and trailers released ahead of time. More of this, please!)

Villeneuve reteams with frequent cinematographer Roger Deakins for the sci-fi story with Ridley Scott as executive producer; Blade Runner scribe Hampton Fancher and Michael Green penned the screenplay for the sequel. Starring Harrison FordRyan GoslingJared LetoRobin WrightBarkhad AbdiAna de ArmasSylvia HoeksLennie James, and Mackenzie DavisBlade Runner 2049 opens in theaters on October 6th

Check out the new short below:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aZ9Os8cP_gg?rel=0

Here’s the official synopsis for Blade Runner 2049:

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

And for more on Blade Runner 2049, take a look at some of our recent write-ups below:

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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.