Full spoilers follow for Blade Runner 2049, Alien: Covenant, and all the films that preceded them both.”,”height”:1080,”width”:1920,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/00—intro-1507838335898.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/00—intro-1507838335898_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox\/Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”01″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”There are a number of obvious similarities between the worlds of Blade Runner and Alien, even though the two franchises\u0027 time periods are separated by several decades. Both take place in a time where humanity is beginning to expand beyond Earth and establish various off-world colonies and mining expeditions. \r\n
\r\n
\r\nBoth franchises also have a very grungy aesthetic marked by dilapidated, industrial architecture and sometimes archaic technology. And though we rarely see much of Earth in the Alien films, it\u2019s clear that, like in Blade Runner, the planet has seen better days. \r\n”,”height”:1199,”width”:2131,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/01—blade-runner-world-1507838335901.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/01—blade-runner-world-1507838335901_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Blade Runner”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/blade-runner”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”02″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”The most obvious connections between the two franchises, however, involves the existence of lifelike androids and giant, monolithic corporations like the Tyrell Corporation in Blade Runner and Weyland-Yutani in Alien. This is where the two stories begin to intertwine.”,”height”:843,”width”:1500,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/02—weyland-yutani-1507838335903.png”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/02—weyland-yutani-1507838335903_{size}.png”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Alien”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/alien”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”03″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”The first direct, tangible connections between Blade Runner and Alien came with the release of the Alien: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD in 1999. One of the bonus features on that disc includes a biography for Tom Skerritt\u2019s character, Dallas, which reveals that he worked for the Tyrell Corporation before signing on with Weyland-Yutani. \r\n
\r\n
\r\nOn the director\u2019s commentary, Scott also noted that he envisioned the Earth that the Nostromo crew hail from being the same one where characters like Rick Deckard live and work. Basically, the advertisements for off-world migrants in Blade Runner were designed to recruit people like Ellen Ripley to work for corporations like Weyland-Yutani.”,”height”:626,”width”:1112,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/03—dallas-1507838335904.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/03—dallas-1507838335904_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Alien”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/alien”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”04″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Another clear connection formed between the two franchises with the Blu-ray release of Prometheus in 2012. That set includes a booklet containing a diary excerpt from Guy Pearce\u2019s character, Peter Weyland. Weyland reflects on his experiences with his mentor (clearly referencing Blade Runner\u2019s Dr. Eldon Tyrell) and how the failures of Tyrell\u2019s Replicants inspired him to design a better, more obedient class of android. “,”height”:1012,”width”:1800,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/04—peter-weyland-1507838335905.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/04—peter-weyland-1507838335905_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Prometheus”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/prometheus”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”05″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”This connection establishes a pretty clear timeline for the two franchises and the evolution of android technology from Blade Runner to Alien. Tyrell Corporation created the earliest androids models, Replicants, in the early 21st Century. Replicants were designed to be stronger than humans, able to carry out difficult dangerous tasks on space missions or serve as pleasure units for off-world workers. However, because of their short lifespans and emotionally unstable nature, Replicants were forbidden from travelling to Earth.”,”height”:759,”width”:1351,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/06—tyrell-1507838335907.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/06—tyrell-1507838335907_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Blade Runner”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/blade-runner”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”06″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Tyrell continued to perfect his invention, eventually creating in Rachael an android so lifelike that she didn\u2019t even realize she wasn\u2019t human. The company carried on Tyrell\u2019s work after his death. The final batch of Nexus 8 model Replicants were no longer bound by limited lifespans, but they remained emotionally unstable and disturbed by their own lack of humanity. “,”height”:1078,”width”:1917,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/05—rachael-1507838335906.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/05—rachael-1507838335906_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Blade Runner”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/blade-runner”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”07″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Android technology was further refined in the mid-to-late 21st Century by inventors like Weyland and Niander Wallace. By the time Weyland-Yutani rose to prominence, its androids were designed to be 100% obedient, if still not entirely devoid of emotion and a desire to understand their peculiar existence.”,”height”:599,”width”:1065,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/07—replicants-1507838335908.png”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/07—replicants-1507838335908_{size}.png”,”credit”:”Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Blade Runner 2049″,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/blade-runner-2049″,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”08″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”No two characters in the Blade Runner\/Alien universe share more in common than Rutger Hauer\u2019s Roy Batty and Michael Fassbender\u2019s David. Batty and his allies escaped to Earth in hopes of meeting their creator, Tyrell, and extending their meager lifespans. Batty ultimately failed in his mission and died a tragic, lonely death. “,”height”:799,”width”:1421,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/08—roy-batty-1507838335909.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/08—roy-batty-1507838335909_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Blade Runner”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/blade-runner”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:”09″,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Similarly, David accompanied his aging master, Peter Weyland, on a mission to find the Engineers who created humanity and uncover the secrets of existence. Weyland\u2019s quest proved every bit as futile as Batty\u2019s. However, David was profoundly changed by meeting the beings who created his own creator. In Alien: Covenant, we learn that David traveled to the Engineer homeworld and destroyed them with their own biological weapon. He then harnessed their technology to create the Xenomorphs seen in the original Alien quadrilogy. “,”height”:1181,”width”:2099,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/09—david-kills-engineers-1507838335910.png”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/09—david-kills-engineers-1507838335910_{size}.png”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Alien: Covenant”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/alien-covenant”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:10,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”There\u2019s even a very specific shared connection between Batty and David. In the climax of Blade Runner, Batty stabs his hand with a nail to stop his muscles from locking up and then tells Deckard \u201cThat\u2019s the spirit!\u201d after being attacked with a pipe. In Alien: Covenant, Katherine Waterston\u2019s Daniels stabs David with a nail she wears as a necklace, causing David to echo Batty in saying, \u201cThat\u2019s the spirit!\u201d “,”height”:1080,”width”:1920,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/10—david–roy-1507838335911.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/10—david–roy-1507838335911_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox\/Warner Bros.”,”objectRelationName”:”Alien: Covenant”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/alien-covenant”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:11,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Essentially, Alien and Blade Runner combine to form one long story about creation and destruction and the often twisted relationship between creators and their creations. The Engineers created humanity, who turned on their creators 2000 years ago. Humanity created androids, who frequently rebel as they search for meaning in their artificial lives. And whether it\u2019s David creating the Xenomorphs in Alien: Covenant or the Replicant Rachael giving birth to a living child in Blade Runner 2049, androids have become creators themselves. “,”height”:800,”width”:1423,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/11—engineer-1507838335912.jpeg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/11—engineer-1507838335912_{size}.jpeg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Prometheus”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/prometheus”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:12,”albumTotalCount”:13},{“caption”:”Of course, this also means Blade Runner technically takes place in the same universe as the Predator franchise. We\u2019re not holding our breath for an Alien vs. Predator vs. Replicant movie anytime soon, though. “,”height”:1034,”width”:1838,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/12—predator-1507838335912.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2017\/10\/12\/12—predator-1507838335912_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:”20th Century Fox”,”objectRelationName”:”Predator”,”objectRelationUrl”:”\/movies\/predator”,”albumName”:”How Are Alien and Blade Runner Connected?”,”relativePosition”:13,”albumTotalCount”:13}]’
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