Yesterday, I was reminded of a small bit of movie trivia that set my brain racing and then made me connect some dots.
For no reason whatsoever, other than the fact that you are Outposters and sharing is caring, this is what I was reminded of.
The fictional country where John Matrix goes to rescue his daughter in Commando is the Central American nation of Val Verde.
In Die Hard 2, the non-extradition country where General Esperanza is fleeing to is also Val Verde.
Hold on, as this goes deeper. Various members of the production team of Predator have said the country where Dutch’s elite unit is deployed is also Val Verde.
Back to Die Hard 2, the Pacific Courier Freight Service appears in the background at the airport.
The same company, with the same logo, appears on a plane in Speed, and on a ship in Speed 2.
And we know from Predator 2 that Aliens and the Predator exist in the same universe. So therefore Commando, Predator, Die Hard, Alien, and Speed all exist in the same cinematic universe.
It turns out I am not making this up. To make absolutely sure I hadn’t dreamed all this, I googled Val Verde and other people are talking about this too.
I even found a Forbes article on the subject that also highlighted that old TV shows Supercarrier and Adventure Inc. also revolved around Val Verde at some point in their runs.
They exist in this universe, alongside Russell Mulcahy’s Ricochet, which was also written by Shane Black.
The article even highlighted that the terrorists in the original Die Hard use a Pacific Courier van to arrive at Nakatomi Plaza.
What I had also not realized is that Marie Allen Trainor reprises the same role – news anchor Gail Wallens from Die Hard – in Ricochet. It’s all connected!
My head is full of shit like this, and now yours is too. You’re welcome!
Check back every day for movie news and reviews at the Last Movie Outpost
