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Dr. Eldon Tyrell was the founder and corporate head of the Tyrell Corporation. He and his company were responsible for the design, manufacturing, and selling of humanoid slaves called replicants.

Biography[]

Tyrell grew up impoverished in a cabin located in the mountains of Edens, California. On this property, he buried an owl and pondered whether he could beat death.[4] He had a younger sister, Alice, to whom he entrusted a diary for safekeeping.[1]

In the year 1999, Tyrell created a video announcing the release of the Nexus-1 the following year.[5]

In 2009, following the death of Lydia Kine, blamed internally on the Nexus-4 pleasure model 4-331575, Tyrell met with Rhea McCallister and Charles Edevane, expressing concern over the incident.[5] The company covered the death up as a suicide and Tyrell appointed Ilora Stahl to handle any inquiries by the Los Angeles Police Department.[6]

After a number of Nexus-4 replicants were "awakened" by the Nexus-5 prototype Nia Moreaux, a number of attacks occurred, culminating in the slums being set ablaze under Stahl's order. Tyrell held Stahl responsible for the destruction caused by the awakened replicants, ordering her to repair the situation and to prevent future replicants from rebelling.[7]

Tyrell had a niece, Lilith,[2] whose memories were used for the experimental[8] Nexus-7, Rachael, created in 2018.[9] Tyrell used Rachael as his assistant and never told her she was a replicant, leading her to believe she was human.[8] Additionally, Tyrell created a Nexus-7 replicant modeled after his friend Alexander Selwyn's late wife.[10]

Tyrell was a master chess player, having lost to J.F. Sebastian only twice, the second time because Roy Batty gave Sebastian the moves to win.[8] He also played with his niece Lilith, although she was always unable to beat him.[2] Tyrell also owned an artificial owl.[8]

In November 2019, Tyrell met with Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who arrived at the Tyrell Corporation after being ordered by Captain Harry Bryant to perform a Voight-Kampff empathy test on a Nexus-6. This was to allow Deckard to better grasp the situation with a group of escaped replicants led by Roy Batty and how they functioned. Tyrell wished to see a negative result of the empathy test before he allowed Deckard to test a replicant. Tyrell suggested that Rachael be used, only for Deckard to discover Rachael's nature as an experimental replicant with memory implants, making her harder to detect as non-human.[8]

He met with rookie Blade Runner Ray McCoy shortly after meeting with Deckard and spoke briefly with him about the death of one of his senior Gravity Lab technicians, but he provided little useful information.[11]

Tyrell was confronted by a Nexus-6 named Clovis who demanded Nexus-6 DNA data in the hope of using it to find a way to prolong his lifespan without Tyrell's involvement. When Tyrell insisted the 4-year lifespan was unalterable, Clovis moved to shoot him, but was thwarted by Tyrell's security team.[11]

Later, Tyrell met with Governor Maurice Kolvig to convince him to allow replicants to work on Earth as slave labor, cleaning up the kipple that surrounded Los Angeles. However, the governor was killed by Clovis as the two discussed plans for implementation.[11]

At some point, Tyrell developed a pathogen deadly to replicants, codenamed Night Owl. It was designed as a fail-safe measure if replicants had become too dangerous.[2]

Later, leader of the escaped replicants, Roy Batty, used Tyrell and Sebastian's chess game to enter Tyrell's living quarters to demand more life. Tyrell remained mostly calm when confronted by Roy and explained that altering DNA was fatal in all circumstances. He attempted to comfort Roy referring to him as the "prodigal son" and reminding him, "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long." This did little to comfort Batty, who kissed Tyrell and then proceeded to crush his skull, killing him as the horrified Sebastian looked on. His body, along with the dead Sebastian, was found by the police shortly after.[8]

Behind the scenes[]

Tyrell game

Tyrell as he appears in the video game.

Tyrell is based upon the character Eldon Rosen from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In a draft of the script dated July 24, 1980, Tyrell has a wife and children, among them a son named Ian. These characters were initially removed after actor Dustin Hoffman (who was in talks to play Deckard) requested the removal of a scene where Roy Batty murders them.[12]

It was originally intended that the Tyrell murdered by Batty would be revealed to be a replicant, and as a result, Batty would head up to the next floor, where he would discover the real Tyrell in cryogenic suspension. Sebastian would then explain that an incurable disease struck Tyrell, who had himself frozen until a cure could be found. Subsequently, Batty would demand that Sebastian awaken him. Two different versions exist with regard to what would have happened next. In the first, Sebastian would break down and admit that he made an error years earlier that resulted in Tyrell's death and in a fury, Batty kills Sebastian. In the second, Sebastian reveals that years before (estimated as 2013) a blackout struck the city and during the approximately forty-five minutes the power was out, Tyrell's life support failed and he died. Again Batty is struck by despair and feeling there is no hope, he kills Sebastian much as he did in the finished film.[12]

Although screenwriter Hampton Fancher wanted Sterling Hayden for the part, director Ridley Scott cast Hayden's The Killing co-star Joe Turkel in the role based on his performance in The Shining. While filming, Turkel had difficulties learning his lines and had to be assisted with cue cards. Turkel stated that his struggles were caused by stresses in his personal life at the time.[12] Turkel reprised the role in the 1997 video game.

Appearances[]

References[]

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