Dark Matter's multiverse is so vast that there's nothing to really prevent many of the original author's other books from existing as part of the same continuity. Blake Crouch, who penned the 2016 novel the show is based on and is the Apple TV adaptation's showrunner, often keeps his sci-fi stories oddly grounded, despite the strong use of genre tropes. As such, it wouldn't be all that wild if Joel Edgerton's Jason Dessen stepped out of the Box and into a reality based on another previously published Blake Crouch story.
That being said, the show has largely avoided doing that. There have been a few cryptic nods to the author's back catalogue, but nothing that confirms a shared continuity. That's why a seemingly throwaway comment in Dark Matter season 2, episode 7, "The Pyramid," caught my attention. After rewinding to make sure I had heard it right, I became convinced that Crouch is finally making two of his literary worlds collide. Not only that, but they appear to have shared the same canon for years.
Dark Matter's Futuristic Chicago has a "hyperloop" system, just like in Upgrade
Visited only briefly in the source material, Dark Matter's Futuristic Chicago has been drastically expanded upon in the Apple TV series. In the book, after Amanda (Alice Braga) decides to stay there, we never see it again. The season 1 twist of Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) being left there by Jason2 is original to the live-action adaptation, as are all the other scenes set in this universe that have been shown since. As such, Crouch is teaching us more and more about the enlightened reality that's come to be humorously known as the "polite sex universe."
"The Pyramid" furthers this lore expansion even further. When Ryan and Amanda are being interrogated by two supposedly polite lovers at the beginning of the episode, one of the characters asking the questions mentions something called a "hyperloop." In this universe, it appears Ryan died "10 years ago in a hyperloop accident." Even out of context, it's pretty easy to figure out that a hyperloop is an advanced form of public transport in the reality in which Futuristic Chicago exists.
Upgrade Trivia: The book is set in various US cities, but never Chicago.
While "The Pyramid" doesn't linger on the details of Ryan's death, "hyperloop" was something of a buzzword for me. I immediately recognized it as originating from another Blake Crouch book: 2022's Upgrade. Similarly, the hyperloop technology is not explored all that thoroughly in Upgrade. It's simply part of the sci-fi worldbuilding. Still, with Crouch choosing to also give Futuristic Chicago a hyperloop, it feels obvious to me that this is far more than just a fun little Easter egg.
Instead, my theory is that the events of Upgrade, which largely unfold in the 2040s, will come to pass for the residents of the reality where Ryan died on the hyperloop. Considering how advanced society has become in Upgrade, it's not wild to assume that Crouch is quietly confirming that the mind-bending gene-editing tech that defines Upgrade's storyline stems from the great strides that have already been made in this Dark Matter reality.
How Dark Matter season 2 can strengthen its implied Upgrade connection
Assuming for a second that Upgrade is set in Dark Matter's most futuristic universe, there are still a few dots to connect before this connection can make complete sense. Thankfully, season 2 has already started to do so. "The Pyramid" builds on the twist from the end of the previous episode: that the virus from a doomed reality has made its way across the multiverse and into Futuristic Chicago. From there, it has spread massively and taken countless lives. When Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) frees Amanda and Ryan so they can flee back into the Box, they do so with the task of finding a cure in another universe.
The nature of this cure, if one is even found, hasn't yet been established. My theory is that, rather than a traditional vaccination, Amanda and Ryan will bring back information about how Hema Aetho 26 (AKA the Black Iris Plague) can only be cured and inoculated against via gene editing. If so, this would explain how the technology came into existence in Upgrade; it came from another world as a solution to a worldwide pandemic. Alternatively, maybe Ryan and Amanda never find the cure, but those in the futuristic universe discover a gene-editing cure themselves. Either way, Upgrade still feels neatly folded into the Dark Matter canon.
Dark Matter season 2 is streaming now on Apple TV.
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