Death of Roy Batty

Lore & Background

By saving Deckard from falling to his death, Batty rejects the cycle of violence even as his own life fades.

Reader's Guide

The sequence culminates on a rain-slicked rooftop where Deckard, battered and exhausted from his hunt, is cornered by Roy Batty. Deckard tries to jump to another roof and is left hanging from the edge, while Roy, whose body is failing as his lifespan ends, makes the jump with ease. Just as death seems imminent for Deckard, Roy hesitates. Realizing his own time has run out, he makes a conscious choice to reject the cycle of violence. In a shocking reversal, he saves Deckard's life, pulling him back from the fall before collapsing himself. With his last breaths Roy speaks of the things he has seen and says that all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

Did You Know?

• Roy Batty was played by Rutger Hauer, who cut several lines from the scripted speech the night before filming and added the closing sentence about tears in rain.
• Roy was activated on January 8, 2016, which makes him three years and ten months old at the time of the film.
• Roy is holding a white dove, which flies up at the moment of his death.