Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explains surprise Alien return

As a gamer with a soft spot for the Alien franchise, I can confidently say that the latest addition, Alien: Romulus, has not only met but exceeded my expectations. The return of a familiar face, or rather a torso, was a delightful twist that added a layer of nostalgia to the storyline.


Alien: Romulus spoilers follow.

Director Fede Álvarez of “Alien: Resurrection” shares insights on the unexpected comeback of a recognizable character from the initial “Alien” series in the most recent film.

The most recent film within this series is marketed as a standalone production, but it actually incorporates several connections to the original movie by Ridley Scott, “Prometheus,” as well as its controversial prequels, “Covenant.”

Look away now if you haven’t seen Alien: Romulus as major spoilers follow.

Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explains surprise Alien return

In the movie “Romulus”, the storyline introduces a character named Rook, who is a talking torso and bears an uncanny resemblance to the android Ash, portrayed by Ian Holm in the initial “Alien” film. However, much like Ash, Rook proves to be equally unreliable.

In the world of the ‘Alien’ series, several character roles are portrayed by only a few synthetic models, allowing actors like Michael Fassbender to take on various characters. Unfortunately, Ian Holm, who played Ash in the original film, passed away in 2020. To compensate for this, a combination of animatronics, computer-generated imagery (CGI), and live action performances by actor Daniel Betts were used in this production to portray the character.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Álvarez shared his reason for choosing Holm’s image for the film. He mentioned: “Throughout history, there are only a certain number of synthetic models available, and that’s why some return multiple times. During our discussions, Ridley and I felt that the one who had never returned before was the best among them – the original model portrayed by Ian Holm.”

The entire situation unfolded when I contacted the estate and spoke with his widow. She believed that Ian had been overlooked by Hollywood in his final years, yearning for more opportunities beyond The Hobbit, yet none were offered to him. Consequently, she was overjoyed at the prospect of bringing him back into the limelight.

Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explains surprise Alien return

Immediately after completing the initial draft, my first action was to arrange a call with his entire family so they could be the first ones to view it.

The conversation was incredibly heartfelt. They had recently lost someone, as had I with my father, around the same period. This allowed me to empathize with their grief yet share in their joy upon seeing him in the film again.

As a gamer, I’m absolutely thrilled about what we’ve achieved together and the way we collaborated with them. I can barely contain my excitement as I anticipate the frenzy among fans when they catch a glimpse of one of their beloved characters from the original!

Alien: Romulus is out in cinemas now. Previous films are available on Disney+.

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2024-08-17 14:49

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