The home entertainment release of Alien: Romulus alters the look of CGI Ian Holm.
Alien: Romulus was released in United States theaters this past August. Directed by Fede Álvarez, the movie is set between the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens.
Holm, who passed away in 2020, played the android character Ash in Scott’s Alien. Alien: Romulus controversially used Holm’s appearance, with permission from his estate, when introducing audiences to another android character, Rook.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Álvarez says he wasn’t entirely thrilled with how Rook’s appearance ultimately turned out in the film.
What did Fede Álvarez say about Alien: Romulus and CGI Ian Holm?
“We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right,” he said. “I wasn’t 100 percent happy with some of the shots, where you could feel a bit more the CG intervention. So, for people that react negatively, I don’t blame them.”
Álvarez says the home entertainment release of Alien: Romulus has now “fixed” this by altering Rook’s look.
“We made it better for the release right now,” he said. “I convinced the studio we need to spend the money and make sure we give the companies that were involved in making it the proper time to finish it and do it right. It’s so much better.
“…[Animatronic puppeteer] Shane Mahan actually did this animatronic of Ian Holm based on a head cast from Lord Of The Rings, and that was the only one in existence. What we did [for the home entertainment version] was revert a lot more to the puppet. It’s way better.”
Alien: Romulus — which stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu — is now available to purchase on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD. It is also currently streaming on Hulu.
