Raised By Wolves' first season has now aired in full on HBO Max, and the 10 episodes have really got fans talking. Blade Runner and Alien director Ridley Scott is the executive producer of the show, leading some viewers to wonder whether the show is linked to those films. After all, the series focuses on two androids, and ends with the reveal of a giant serpent which, while it is not a Xenomorph, could probably still get an invite to a Xenomorph family reunion as a distant relative.
However, both Scott himself and the creator of Raised By Wolves Aaron Guzikowski have both denied that the HBO Max show and the classic movie are set in the same universe.
Most recently, Scott responded to a question about the link between Alien and Raised By Wolves during a Reddit Ask Me Anything.
In this AMA, the four-time Oscar nominee said: "Interesting question but, no, the first Alien story feels like it may be some time before Raised By Wolves, in that the Nostromo was probably financed by an organized global economy. Wolves is about post-global war chaos."
Though Scott says that no, they are not set in the same universe, he then seems to suggest that the latter could take place in the same timeline, but years later.
Technically, the timelines work on this. The first Alien is set in the year 2122, with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) waking up 57 years later 2179 in Aliens. Raised By Wolves, meanwhile, is set at some point in the 22nd century, meaning the latest it could be set is 2199.
Guzikowski, however, debunked the fan theory further. In a Newsweek interview, in which he broke down the Raised By Wolves season finale and teased Season 2, the showrunner said: "I think there is definitely a lot of thematic connection. Certainly, there is some homage in there. It is Ridley Scott, so Ridley has this kind of visual vocabulary that is constantly expanding. All of his work, there is this kind of connectivity to that sort of aesthetic.
"But directly in terms of the actual mythology in the story and the timeline, it is not supposed to be of the same timeline as Alien or Blade Runner or anything else. But at the same time, again, we are definitely dealing with a lot of the same themes and ideas and concepts. There is some DNA that they have in common, but we are not literally trying to connect with those mythologies."
Raised By Wolves Season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max; Season 2 is coming soon.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
