The movie Alien: Romulus sparked a lot of debate for bringing back a character using the image of a deceased actor. To address this, the director, Fede Álvarez, made some changes to the character afterward.
In an interview with Empire, Álvarez talked about feeling unhappy with how Rook, the android character modeled after the late Ian Holm, looked in the version of the movie released in August.
We didn’t have enough time during post-production to make it perfect, Some scenes looked too much like CGI, and I wasn’t fully satisfied with them. I understand why some viewers didn’t like it—it’s hard to blame them.
he said
Ian Holm passed away in 2020, and the filmmakers kept Rook, the android character, a secret in the Alien: Romulus marketing. So, when Rook appeared in the movie, it surprised both fans and critics. However, many, felt the character didn’t quite fit and called it one of the weaker parts of an otherwise well-received film. Since Fede Álvarez wasn’t happy with how Rook looked, he decided to fix it for the home release.
We improved it, I convinced the studio to invest more money so we could give the teams enough time to finish it properly. It looks so much better now.
Álvarez told Empire
The director shared how they used an animatronic puppet and materials from one of Ian Holm’s past projects to help create Rook.
Shane Mahan made an animatronic model of Ian Holm using a head cast from The Lord of the Rings. It was the only one available,
Álvarez explained
As the movie’s release date got closer, they added more CGI to finish the character. “For the home release, we went back to using more of the puppet,” he said. “It looks so much better now.”
Ian Holm played Ash, an android in the original Alien movie from 1979. Because of that connection, Fede Álvarez and Ridley Scott, who directed the first Alien and produced Romulus, decided to bring Holm’s likeness back for the new film.
There aren’t many synthetic models in the story, so it made sense to bring one back, Ridley and I agreed that the best choice was the original model played by Ian Holm, who hadn’t been revisited before.
Álvarez explained in an interview with EW
Álvarez made sure to get approval from Holm’s family first. “I started by reaching out to his estate and speaking with his widow,” Álvarez shared.
She told me Ian felt overlooked by Hollywood in his later years. After The Hobbit, he wanted to do more projects but didn’t get the chance. She loved the idea of bringing him back in this way.
The director shared that Ian Holm’s family was among the first to see Rook on screen. “As soon as we had a rough version ready, I arranged a call with his family to show them first,” Álvarez said.
It was a deeply emotional moment. They lost Ian not too long ago, and I lost my dad around the same time, so I understood their feelings. Seeing their mix of sadness and excitement to see him in the movie again was incredibly touching. I’m really proud of how we handled it and worked closely with them. I can’t wait for fans to be thrilled to see one of their favorite faces from the original movie.
Alien: Romulus is now streaming on Hulu.