Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus!
Summary
I was initially concerned aboutAlien: Romulusbringing back the original actor fromAlien, but after new details have emerged, I feel better about it now. DespiteAlien: Romulusfocusing on an entirely new cast of main characters, the film does take place in betweenAlienandAliens, meaning that I knew that there was potential for actors from the previous movies to return. However, I was surprised by the way thatAlien: Romuluswent about bringing back this returning character, and while I was not a fan of it at first, I am starting to feel better.
Alien: Romulussees its cast of charactershead to an abandoned Weyland-Yutani space laboratory in an attempt to steal some cryosleep tanks, with them bumping into a dead synthetic along the way. As it turns out, this synthetic is named Rook, with him being the same model as Ian Holm’s Ash character from the originalAlien.Alien: Romulusmanaged to recreate Ian Holm’s look for the new character through the use of AI and CGI technology, and while it is impressive, I really don’t like the idea of movies bringing back computer-generated actors who have sadly passed away.
Alien Romulus Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records
Alien: Romulus is a hit for the sci-fi franchise, and here’s a breakdown of the movie’s domestic, opening, and worldwide box office numbers so far.
Ian Holm’s Family Loved That Alien: Romulus Wanted To Include Him
The Director Went To Them For Approval
Alien: RomulusdirectorFede Álvarez has discussed the decision to bring back Ian Holm’s likenessfor the film, addressing the controversy head-on. Álvarez says that, when trying to decide whether or not to bring Ian Holm’s likeness back for the 2024 film, he personally talked to Ian Holm’s widow and kids, asking them their permission to use the actor in the film. According to the director, they approved of the inclusion inAlien: Romulus, with them loving the idea of returning to the franchise. Here are Álvarez’s comments on the matter:
Then the first thing I did was personally call his widow, family and kids to verify everybody was on board with this idea. His widow told me that Ian felt, in the last 10 years of his life, Hollywood turned a cold shoulder to him and that he didn’t get many offers. And she said he would have loved to be invited back into “Alien,” because he loved Ridley and he loved that franchise.
One of my big problems with bringing back the likenesses of dead actors is thatthe actors are no longer around to give consent. While it is true that Ian Holm himself wasn’t able to consent to having his likeness used inAlien: Romulus, getting the consent of his family was the next best thing. Having the family involved as much as possible ensures that the process can remain respectful of the actor’s legacy, and while I do still have problems with bringing deceased actors back to life, this does make me feel slightly better about this case.
8 Biggest Alien Lore Reveals In Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus draws a ton from its predecessors, but it also builds upon the Alien franchise lore with plenty of exciting new reveals.
Alien: Romulus Wanted Ian Holm’s Likeness To Honor His History With The Franchise
Comparing Him To The Franchise’s Other Synthetics
The decision to bring backIan Holm’s likeness forAlien: Romulusapparently wasn’t just to score the film nostalgia points, with Álvarez instead wanting to honor Holm’s involvement with the franchise through his return. Álvarez wanted to bring Ian Holm back in order to give his character from the originalAlienthe same treatment as the characters that Lance Henriksen and Michael Fassbender played in theAliensequels and prequels, as both of these actors played multiple iterations of the same Weyland-Yutani synthetic models.
It was out of fairness in a way. I felt it was so unfair that Lance Henriksen made many appearances, and Michael Fassbender. And I felt it was crazy that Ian Holm was never back.
It always felt a bit strange that Ian Holm only played one synthetic while the other actors played multiple. After all, Holm was around to return in everyAlienmovie beforeAlien: Romulus, with him having passed away in 2020.It would have been better if any one of the manyAliensequels asked Ian Holm to return while he was still alive, rather than the franchise waiting until after his death. However, since Fede Álvarez wasn’t involved with the series untilAlien: Romulus, it makes sense that he would do whatever he could to honor Ian Holm’sAlienrole.
Why Rain Calls Andy Her Brother In Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus sees Rain and Andy refer to each other as siblings, and the explanation is easy to miss. Here’s what we know from the new film.
Alien: Romulus' Rook Wasn’t Meant To Be A Complete Ash Duplicate
He Is Supposed To Be A Different Character Entirely
One other smart change thatAlien: Romulusmade to the character that bears Ian Holm’s likeness continues to make things slightly better in my eyes. Rather than bringing back Ian Holm’s likeness to recreate Ash,Alien: Romulusinstead uses the actor’s image to create a new character named Rook. According to theAlien: Romulusdirector, Ash and Rookare similar in the sense that they are both controlled by the Mother system. However, they have different roles and a different demeanor, with their shared appearance having to do with their Weyland-Yutani production.
Talking with Ridley, both of us came up with this idea that what if it has the likeness of Ian Holm — which is different from being Ian Holm or even being Ash. We would’ve never dared to reproduce that because you cannot reproduce with any technology, the talent of an actor. You can never capture the nuance of someone’s performance and their choices. So we designed a different character, but it shares the same likeness.
This change means that any differences in their performance can be written up to their different artificial intelligences, as they are not the same character. Based on the previous statement, this change was due to Fede Álvarez knowing that he couldn’t recreate Ian Holm’s performance from the original, causing him to not want to try. Instead,Alien: Romulususes Ian Holm’s likeness and voice to create an entirely new character, which has turned out to be a controversial choice.
Alien: Romulus
Cast
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
