When Alien: Romulus hit theaters last summer, it reignited the franchise’s sci-fi-horror legacy because it was so awesome!
Director Fede Alvarez delivered a visceral film, which was set between Alien and Aliens, blending the terror of Ridley Scott’s original with the action-packed intensity of James Cameron’s sequel.
It also paid homage to elements from Prometheus and Alien: Resurrection, making it a love letter to the franchise, and it worked!
But let’s address the Xenomorph in the room. One aspect of the movie sparked some debate among fans, and that was the return of Ian Holm’s likeness for the android character Rook.
Holm, who portrayed Ash in the original 1979 film was brought back through a mix of animatronics and CGI with the blessing of his estate. Unfortunately, the on-screen result was the one thing that bugged me about the movie. The CGI was not to the Calibur that it should’ve been
In a recent interview with Empire, Alvarez opened up about the rushed CGI that made it into the theatrical cut, saying:
“We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right. 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.”
Alvarez ended up convincing the studio to give Rook the overhaul it deserved for the home release and say it was fixed. He said:
“We fixed it. We made it better for the release right now. 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.”
Alvarez explained that Shane Mahan, an animatronics wizard, created an intricate puppet of Holm’s face using a head cast from The Lord of the Rings. While the theatrical cut relied more on CGI, the home release restores the balance by reverting to the animatronic.
Alvarez said: “What we did [for the home entertainment version] was revert a lot more to the puppet. It’s way better.”
This CGI issues didn’t keep the film from making the top of my favorite 2024 movie list, but I’m happy to hear that they fixed this issue!
