Extensional systems evolve through different stages due to changes in the rheological state of the lithosphere. It is crucial to distinguish ductile structures formed before and during rifting, as both cases have important but contrasting bearings on the structural evolution. To address this issue, we present the illustrative ductile‐to‐brittle structural history of a metamorphic core complex (MCC) onshore and offshore western Norway. Combining geological field mapping with newly acquired 3‐D seismic reflection data, we correlate two distinct onshore basement units (BU1 and BU2) to corresponding offshore basement seismic facies (SF1 and SF2). Our interpretation reveals two 40 km wide domes (one onshore and one offshore), which both show characteristic kilometer‐scale, westward plunging upright folds. The gneiss domes fill antiformal culminations in the footwall of a >100 km long, shallowly west dipping, extensional detachment. Overlying Caledonian nappes and Devonian supradetachment basins occupy saddles of the hyperbolic detachment surface. Devonian collapse of the Caledonian orogen formed dome and detachment geometries. During North Sea rifting, brittle reactivation of the MCC resulted in complex fault patterns deviating from N‐S strike dominant at the eastern margin of the rift. Around 61°N, only minor N‐S faults (<100 m throw) cut through the core of the MCC. Major rift faults (≤5 km throw), on the other hand, reactivated the detachment and follow the steep flanks of the MCC. This highlights that inherited ductile structures can locally alter the orientation of brittle faults formed during rifting. Plain Language Summary The mechanical behavior of the lithosphere largely determines the style of crustal deformation. Therefore, many areas go successively through different modes of extension. In the case of a thick and warm crust, extension can form ductile domes below low‐angle normal faults, so‐called metamorphic core complexes (MCCs). Onshore West Norway, we observe a MCC formed during Devonian collapse of the Caledonian orogen. Offshore, new 3‐D seismic data reveal a second dome underneath rift basins in the northern North Sea. Both domes are connected through a 100 km long extensional high strain zone, which formed during Caledonian collapse. The combination of ductile and brittle processes formed a deformation zone with nonplanar geometry, which consists of a series of domes and saddles. About 140 Myr later, Permian‐Triassic rifting formed large normal faults, which exploited the inherited weakness of the deformation zone. This brittle reactivation resulted in strongly deviating rift fault orientations around 61°N. Key Points Field and 3‐D seismic data constrain Devonian metamorphic core complex onshore West Norway and underneath the northern North Sea rift Onshore‐offshore correlation reveals 100 km long detachment with nonplanar geometry Brittle reactivation of steep detachment segments strongly deviated Permian‐Triassic rift fault orientations around 61°N