Alien is canon in another sci-fi franchise and you never noticed

Forget Predator: Alien is “interlinked” with another incredible sci-fi franchise, as confirmed by Ridley Scott.

Fans are still debating if Alien vs Predator is canon; after all, Prey showed the Yautja’s first hunt on Earth, but 2004’s AVP reveals they’ve been around for thousands of years and even helped to build the pyramids.

Also, Alien: Earth will inevitably explore how a Xenomorph made its way onto our planet… but in AVP, there’s a huge horde of them in Antarctica, and then they return to terrorize a small town in Colorado in AVP: Requiem.

It’s all very messy, and it’s not worth giving yourself a headache with all the contradictions. Instead, here’s something far simpler that’s incredibly cool and won’t scramble your brain: Alien and Blade Runner are set in the same universe.

Thematically and story-wise, the two franchises overlap: they both revolve around nefarious corporations that specialize in AI and setting up off-world colonies, their cities are grungy and smothered by darkness, and they all wrestle with the idea of creation and questioning (if not destroying) one’s makers.

And then there’s the similarities between David and Roy Batty, an android and replicant obsessed with meeting their creators (and their creator’s creator), both of whom rebel in pursuit of answers (David is considerably nastier, though).

But I know you’re more interested in the specific connections and references, so let’s get into it.

In the special features of 1999’s Alien: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD, the biography for Tom Skerritt’s Dallas reveals he worked for the Tyrell Corporation before joining Weyland-Yutani.

20th Century Studios

On one of Blade Runner’s director’s commentaries, Scott also said: “So almost this world could easily be the city that supports the crew that go out in Alien.

“So, in other words, when the crew of Alien come back in, they might go into this place and go into a bar off the street near where Deckard lives. That’s how I thought about it.”

20th Century Studios

If you bought Prometheus’ steelbook Blu-ray in 2012, you may have also found a booklet with a diary excerpt from Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland. He talks about his experiences with his mentor and how it inspired him to make a superior class of android…and it’s heavily implied to be Blade Runner’s Dr. Eldon Tyrell.

Don’t expect a crossover, though. It’s just a fun connection between Scott’s two universes, nothing more.

If you’ve just watched the new movie, check out our breakdown of Alien: Romulus’ ending, when Romulus takes place in the Alien timeline, and our ranking of the Alien movies.