Dark Matterseason 2 is on the way, but if you’re like me and can’t wait to see how the Apple TV+ show will continue, the same sci-fi author has already written a novel that blends brilliantly with his multiverse saga. DespiteDark Matterseason 1’s book changes, the live-action adaptation remained incredibly faithful to the 2016 novel of the same name, and only made additions that were in keeping with the source material. There’s one alternate reality that appears in both the book and the show that could easily connectDark Matterto another story by the same author.
Dark Matterseason 1’s endingteasing a continuation of the book really surprised me, as it now means season 2 will be all original material. The show’s premise means Joel Edgerton’s Jason Dessen can once more make full use ofDark Matter’s interdimensional traveland explore various new realities.The adaptation has already introduced new worlds that never appeared in Crouch’s original novel, and one even manages to reference another project fromDark Matter’s author/showrunner.
Blake Crouch’s Upgrade Could Easily Be Connected To Dark Matter’s Virus Story
Upgrade’s outbreak scene is eerily similar to Dark Matter’s doomed virus universe
Published in 2022, Blake Crouch’sUpgradeborrows from one ofDark Matter’s most macabre realities and fleshes it out to create a more detailed version of the mini-arc. The Virus Universe is never fully explained when Jason visits the alternate reality in theDark Matterbook, nor does it receive much more context in the adaptation. However, Chicago is revealed to have been brought to its knees by a deadly contagion that has already killed Jason’s son and goes on to take his wife. The scene is understandably brief, butUpgradebuilds its entire story on a very similar concept.
“If you believe that you or anyone in your home is infected, display a red piece of cloth in a street-facing window. If anyone in your home is deceased, display a black piece of cloth in a street-facing window.”
- Dark Matter (2016)
“The CDC and National Guard had ordered every household to keep a visual marker hanging from their front door that identified the condition of the people inside. As I walked up Ninth Street S., it was a devastating thing to see - every ninth or tenth house had a piece of black cloth hanging from its doorknob.”
- Upgrade (2022)
Dark Matteruses the multiverse trope, butUpgradeis a sci-fi tale about genetic manipulation. When a mysterious illness sweeps through a small US town,how the outbreak is handled feels as though it has been lifted directly fromDark Matter. Of course, there are bound to be similarities between both instances due to CDC procedures and such, but it’s perhaps a little too coincidental that two Blake Crouch books seem so interconnected. So, my theory is that the viruses in both stories have a shared or very similar origin.
How Else Dark Matter & Upgrade Are Similar
Jason Dessen’s Upgrade counterpart experiences a very familiar arc
Dark Matter’s Jason Dessenis a middle-aged man who’s torn from his wife and child due to a heavily sci-fi-influenced storyline, and he’s prevented from returning to them for the majority of the story. Both are also replaced as the family patriarch. Swapping out Jason’s name forUpgrade’s Logan Ramsay makes the similarities between the two characters' arcs seem startlingly similar. This synopsis can be used for bothDark MatterandUpgrade, although there are nuanced differences when other details are taken into account. If anything, it’s just clear thatCrouch has a recognizable writing style and specific narrative preferences.
How Dark Matter Could Kick Off A Blake Crouch Sci-Fi Universe
Dark Matter may be based on a standalone novel, but the live-action adaptation could act as a building block for broadening Blake Crouch’s universe.
Deadly virus aside,Dark Matterseason 1 includes another compellingUpgradeEaster Egg. Apple TV+’s version of the multiverse saga reveals the Dessen family once had a fourth member called Max. Also played by Oakes Fegley in an alternate reality where Max didn’t die, he never existed in the book, but he was Charlie Dessen’s twin in the adaptation. Max Dessen dies before the events ofDark Matterseason 1, which feels like an indisputable nod to Max Ramsay, who is the late twin ofUpgrade’s main character. Logan’s departed brother also never appears inUpgradebut is mentioned.
Dark Matter & Upgrade Aren’t Canonically Connected (But They Could Be)
Upgrade’s near-future setting doesn’t necessarily exclude it from the Dark Matter universe
Dark Matter’s multiversal premise opens the door for pretty much any of Blake Crouch’s books to be part of the same canon. If it doesn’t align withDark Matter’s main canon, the argument could be made that it’s simply set in another reality that’s happening away from Jason Dessen’s original world.There’s nothing inUpgradethat would exclude it from being inDark Matter’s canon, but such a crossover hasn’t been confirmed. So, as far as I’m concerned, they share a continuity - albeit a high-concept one.
Upgradecould simply be the future of an unseenDark Matterreality where the virus is different and was unleashed much later.
Perhaps the one thing keeping this theory from ringing true is thatDark Matter’s virus andUpgrade’s virus don’t act in the same way. WhileDark Mattershows its virus victims physically suffering from an undisclosed illness,Upgrade’s virus is revealed to attack the mind. Plus,Upgradeis set in the mid-21st century, and the outbreak is new. As such, it can’t be set alongsideDark Matter’s virus universe. That being said,Upgradecould simply be the future of an unseenDark Matterreality where the virus is different and was unleashed much later.
