9 Pairs of Films That Secretly Share the Same Universe

Filmmakers do it all the time. A short cameo, a prop in the background, a simple reference in a dialogue or shot, or even a character spin-off that’s masterfully hidden within the main plot of the story—it’s what I like to call the “filmmaker’s nostalgia,” which can unite movies across the cinemascape.

Which means movies sometimes share the same universe. (And no, we're definitely not talking about movies in the same franchise here.)

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of movies that have nothing to do with each other, plot-wise; however, they’re set in the same universe.

9 Films That Share the Same Universe

1. American Psycho (2000) and The Rules of Attraction (2002)

Mary Harron’s American Psycho follows a wealthy New Yorker, Patrick Bateman, who goes on a killing spree. Roger Avary’s Rules of Attraction is a rom-com that revolves around spoiled college brats.

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It’s wild that these two movies share the same universe through a single character, Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), considering their starkly different genres. However, according to the Bret Easton Ellis novel from which these two films were adapted, Sean Bateman is actually Patrick Bateman’s brother.

There’s a deleted scene, released by director Roger Avery in 2018, that establishes the connection between the two brothers, as we see Sean asking Patrick for money over the phone.

In The Rules of Attraction, however, Casper Van Dien plays Patrick, and not Christian Bale.

2. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)

If you love crime dramas, you must have seen (or must see) Better Luck Tomorrow. Directed by Justin Lin, the man who reimagined the Fast and Furious franchise with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Better Luck Tomorrow centres on a group of Asian American overachievers who turn to crime to bring back adventure into their boring lives.

Lin brought Han Lue (Sung Kang) to the Fast universe, uniting the two films under the same universe. Lue not only became a core member of the plot, but his popularity also prompted the makers to readjust timelines to accommodate him in the later The Fast and the Furious movies, after he was seemingly killed in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

3. Casper (1995) and Ghostbusters (1984)

Casper and Ghostbusters have the most adorable crossover, if you ask me. Based on the Harvey Comics character, Casper (voiced by Malachi Pearson) is the friendly ghost who befriends Kat (Christina Ricci), a young girl, who moves into the mansion after her father accepts a new job.

Kat’s father, Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman), is an afterlife therapist, hired by the new owners of the house to get rid of the paranormal presence.

In an attempt to get rid of Casper, Carrigan (Cathy Moriarty), the greedy socialite, hires a series of paranormal experts, including our very own Ghostbuster, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd).

4. Commando (1985) and Die Hard 2 (1990)

While John Matrix never makes it to Val Verde, the fictional Latin American country in Commando, abandoning his professional mission for a personal one, John McClane in Die Hard 2 is pitted against the former dictator of Val Verde, who is being extradited to America for trial.

Interestingly, Val Verde is also in 1987’s Predator, as Dutch and his crew fight the alien predator in the jungles of this Latin American country.

The theory that these films are set in the same universe, via Val Verde, stems from the fact that Commando, Predator, and Die Hard 2 were all produced by Joel Silver.

Technically, that means three films share the same universe.

5. Transformers (2007) and Friday the 13th (2009)

This one is quite a bizarre universe-sharing, considering one is about a relentless masked killer and the other revolves around a centuries-long war between robots.

However, Transformers and Friday the 13th share their universe through Travis Van Winkle’s Trent.

Trent is Mikaela’s (Megan Fox) boyfriend for a brief time early on in Transformers, and then two years later, we see him again in Friday the 13th. Both times, Trent is obnoxious, and in Friday the 13th, he cheats on his girlfriend, shortly after which he is brutally killed by Jason Voorhees, the masked killer.

6. Blade Runner (1982) and Soldier (1998)

It will be a couple of rewatches before you catch on to the two specific story elements that prove that Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Paul W.S. Anderson’s Soldier secretly share the same universe.

In Roy Batty’s (Rutger Hauer) climactic monologue in Blade Runner, he mentions a few off-world locations, specifically the Tannhäuser Gate and the Shoulder of Orion. Fast-forward to Soldier, 16 years later. Kurt Russell’s military service record shows an interesting detail—Todd 3465 had been deployed at both the Tannhäuser Gate and the Shoulder of Orion.

Additionally, at one point in the film, we see a Spinner flying car from Blade Runner in the background in a scene in Soldier.

7. Jackie Brown (1997) and Out of Sight (1998)

It is easy to miss the two characters who unite Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, under the same universe: Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton.

The two actors make uncredited cameos in Out of Sight, after playing Ordell Robbie (Jackson) and Ray Nicolette (Keaton) in Jackie Brown. However, Keaton’s cameo in Out of Sight is more significant to the premise, as he appears as the particularly notable ATF agent Ray Nicolette from Jackie Brown.

8. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and E.T. (1982)

The cross-over between Steven Spielberg’s E.T. and George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is like two close friends giving each other a friendly nod through their work.

In one of the Galactic Senate sessions in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, we see a few members of E.T.'s race in one of the floating repulsorpods.

Considering the backdrop of both films, this is one of the most ingenious ways to declare that two movies share the same universe, as Spielberg never reveals the origins of E.T. in his movie, and Lucas’ Star Wars is said to have taken place in “a galaxy far, far away.” If any of my friends did this for me, I’d be touched!

9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and The Breakfast Club (1985)

Reportedly, John Hughes said in an interview that most of his films are set in the same universe, more specifically in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois, “where everything happened.”

In fact, both The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off mention Shermer High School quite explicitly, suggesting that it is another school in the town, and both films are set in Shermer.

Many times, films with shared creators end up sharing the same universe, like John Hughes’ movies or Transformers and Friday the 13th. Other times, sharing the universe with an existing film is one director’s way of paying tribute to another.

To me, that is one of the most endearing acts of acknowledgement a filmmaker can ever receive. Honestly, I dream of having that for myself someday.

Let us know in the comments which of the movies you have already watched.