PROMETHEUS Above: A deleted scene in which the Engineer is underwhelmed by The Casual Vacancy.
  • PROMETHEUS Above: A deleted scene in which the Engineer is underwhelmed by The Casual Vacancy.

The Prometheus Blu-ray comes out tomorrow, which means that oh-so-coincidentally, someone (TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX) has started spreading word that in the disc's special features, it's revealed that the Alien and Blade Runner universes are now, apparently, the same universe. This means absolutely nothing to anyone except those of us who debate the difference between the workprint and Final Cut versions of Blade Runner, and parse exactly where Joss Whedon's screenplay for Alien Resurrection went so, so wrong. Here's the screenshot in question:

Screen_shot_2012-10-08_at_2.59.49_PM.png

And after the jump: Even more futile nerd rage, including (A) The only reasonable reaction to such a screenshot, and (B) Evidence of Ridley Scott debating if he should include Rutger Hauer in Prometheus, or whether he should save the big crossover moment for when Ripley and Bishop share their first kiss beneath the glittering C-beams near the Tannhauser Gate. (Hey, look everybody, I just wrote Blade Runner 2 and Prometheus 2 in one fell swoop!) Also, (C) Another shocking revelation about two of Ridley Scott's movies!

(A) The only reasonable reaction to the above screenshot:

BadJokeEel.jpeg

(B) Re: Blade Runner's Roy Batty showing up in Prometheus:

The information comes from concept artist Ben Proctor, who is talking in the "Merging Ridleyverses" featurette. He continues with more on Ridley's ideas: "Maybe the bodyguards, you know, that come out with Weyland, maybe one of them says Batty on his uniform. And we're like "Awesome! Do it, do it!" And it didn't end up making it but I thought that was a really cool thing that there is such a compatibility between the sort of, you know, dystopian future of Blade Runner and Alien that they may as well be the same universe. And if we're doing a Weyland versus a Weyland-Yutani, why not have corporate mergers shifting and make some kind of a connection there. I thought that was cool." (Via.)

(C) Ridley Scott doesn't make a big deal out of this, but did you guys know Gladiator and Thelma & Louise totally take place in the same universe too? Crazy, right?

(D) I know, I didn't even tell you there was going to be a (D)! Bonus! But Prometheus' O.G. screenwriter, Jon Spaihts, is telling Empire all about how his version was different, and hinting there's more where Prometheus came from.

I did have a plan for multiple films and the conversations I had with Ridley was about a new franchise, from the beginning. We talked about a possible trilogy, or a duology, but more often as a trilogy. And I did have pretty broad notions as to how we were going to get from this world to the original Alienβ€”the baton pass, closing the circle, if you will. So yes, I did have plans for two other films. I came up with an even more twisted sequence than the Medpod, but I cannot tell you what happens...