Romulus' Most Controversial Scene 'Corrected' for DVD Release

The DVD release of the film Alien:Romulus brings an edited version of a controversial scene, sparked by varying reactions from viewers.

Alien: Romulus : a controversial tribute to Ian Holm

The movie Alien: Romulus met with great success among franchise aficionados Alien as well as a new generation of horror movie fans. However, one scene in particular sparked mixed reactions among longtime fans: the appearance of late actor Ian Holm as Rook, the android science officer.

A technology that is debated

Director Fede Álvarez and 20th Century Studios heard the criticism and decided to take action. In a recent interview with EmpireÁlvarez acknowledges that the use of face substitution technology to recreate Ian Holm's likeness was not up to par. “We didn't have enough time in post-production to get it right,” he admits. “I wasn't 100% happy with some scenes, where you could feel the CGI intervention. So I understand the negative reactions. »

Adjustments in post-production

Álvarez later admitted to returning to work in post-production to improve Rook's scenes in Alien: Romulus. “We fixed the problems. We improved it for home release. I convinced the studio to spend money to give the companies involved time to finish the job properly. It’s much better now,” he said.

An animatronic solution

To enhance the scene, the production team used a unique animatronic puppet. Rook was created by combining an animatronic puppet and CGI effects. The film's release date caused Álvarez to rely more on CGI effects. For the home version, the production team salvaged a rare piece of animatronics to make Rook more convincing. « Shane Mahan made this animatronic puppet of Ian Holm from a cast of the head of The Lord Of The Rings. It was the only one in existence,” Álvarez explained.

A persistent debate

The controversy surrounding the character of Rook in Alien: Romulus is not so much about his appearance (which was indeed grotesque), but rather about using the image of a deceased actor for what some consider commercial nostalgia. Fede Álvarez, big fan of the franchise Alienwanted with Romulus pay tribute to the fans.