The Weyland-Tyrell Corporation?

"Alien" and "Blade Runner" are two of the most influential movies of the past 50 years. They each sent shock waves through their respective genre's that are still being felt today. "Blade Runner" pretty much created the modern dystopian template; a world so divorced from being a 'society' that replicants are the only ones capable of emotional connection, while "Alien" opened up space to working stiffs and shifted our idea of what an alien life form might be from the basically human dweebs of "Star Trek" to giant, bipedal, blood-thirsty beetles with hi IQs.

As compelling as both of Ridley Scott's early masterpieces are no one, to my knowledge, has suggested a link between these worlds: until now. According to a heads-up article over at firstshowing there's a "supplementary pod" on the "Prometheus" Blu-Ray entitled "Merging Ridleyverses" where concept artist Ben Proctor is talking about conversations that went on during production of Prometheus including one where Scott reportedly says "Maybe the bodyguards, you know, that come out with Weyland, maybe one of them says Batty on his uniform." and another where Scott proffers this idea: "You know, I'm thinking what if it's the Weyland-Tyrell Corporation? Is that cool?" I suppose that depends on who you ask.

While neither of these ideas ever showed up in Prometheus the fact that Scott is including their mention on the Blu-Ray indicates that they're not just him idly kicking a conceptual can down the road. He must certainly have known what kind of cyberspace shit-storm he'd be setting off just by mentioning the idea publicly. And there's more. The article also includes the graphic below which a fan apparently captured from the UK Prometheus Steelbook Blu-Ray and is purported to be an email of sorts from Peter Weyland in which he discusses some very familiar characters.

So is Ridley Scott setting us up for a Weyland cameo in his upcoming "Blade Runner" sequel? Or could it be that the daughter Ripley lost to old age while she was floating through the core systems in the Nostromo escape pod was Deckard's love child? (I know, Scott himself has said Deckard was a replicant, which would imply he is unable to procreate. I'm just trying to make a point.)

That point is that, personally, I think it's a mashup too far. Some things are best left untouched, to be appreciated as stand-alone creations. There's no compelling reason to glum one masterpiece onto the legacy of another, no jaw-dropping narrative symmetry that's come to light that requires exploration. In fact there's no artistic reason to do it, only marketing reasons. A far reaching Ridleyverse could potentially be exploited by Scott Free Productions and 20th Century Fox for years to come by creating a more heady alternative to the Avengers universe. But is box office alone sufficient justification? It all seems so tacky. So AVP to me. Think a little harder Ridley. Come up with some new, original ideas and don't try and build bridges between masterpieces solely in the interest of free trade. Some things should be above crass, commercial considerations.