Blade Runner 2049: Dave Bautista is on the run in new short film

Many mysteries surround Blade Runner 2049, and one of them is Dave Bautista. The Guardians of the Galaxy star portrays a character named Sapper in Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to the 1982 original film, and now a new short from director Luke Scott reveals the backstory to this hulking giant with a big heart.

Despite his WWE-ready physique, Sapper seems like a kind and gentle man who keeps to himself. A loudspeaker warns of “fugitive” replicants that are “subject to retirement” as he walks through a street market in the year 2048, a year before the events of the upcoming film. Sapper shakes off a group of thugs before he delivers one of his favorite books — appropriately, a story about an outlaw priest trying to understand what it means to be human — to his friend, a young girl.

Later, he swallows his frustration when he’s taken advantage of by a trader, but Sapper doesn’t stand by when he sees those same thugs attacking the girl and her mother. He reveals himself to be a rogue replicant with Herculean strength and an unflinching response to knife wounds.

He’s forced to flee into hiding when he realizes what he’s done, but a man finds a paper with his address and calls in his location.

The short, titled “2049: Nowhere to Run,” was directed by Luke Scott (Morgan). Scott also directed the first of these prequel short films, called “2049: Nexus Dawn,” which focused on Jared Leto’s Niander Wallace.

The film picks up 30 years after the events of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner with Ryan Gosling’s K, an LAPD officer who tracks down Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) when he uncovers a secret with the potential to unravel what’s left of society.