Romulus director ‘fixes’ Ian Holm’s CGI Resurrection in home release

Since the original Alien in 1979, every subsequent film seems to have contained certain elements that immediately caused a negative reaction from audiences. James Cameron’s sequel was criticized for ditching the horror and replacing it with dumb action, while Alien 3 caused fan displeasure on a grand scale by killing off beloved characters Newt and Hicks … before doing the same to its own host Lady, Ripley. (The less we say about Alien: Resurrection , a movie I really like, the better.) Both of Ridley Scott’s prequel films rubbed many viewers the wrong way, despite winning more and more over the years. more fans, but it’s safe to say that last year’s Alien: Romulus was intended as a much-needed return to form.

In many ways he has done just that – perhaps not much too ok as /Film’s Chris Evangelista wrote in his review — but it also continued the franchise’s grand tradition of alienating (pun definitely intended) audiences with other divisive creative choices.

This time it had to do with spoilers rotate around the middle of Alien: Romulus, where our new heroes discover a very familiar face aboard the abandoned space station Romulus. Meet the Hand, a new synthetic creature model that still has the same face as the late, great Ian Holm, who memorably portrayed Ash years ago. Although not quite the same character, the same evil intent of Weyland-Yutani remained embedded in his system. But the scene was not without various controversieswith fans taking offense to the sketchy visuals as well as the whole idea of ​​digitally recreating yet another dead actor. However, for the home release, director Fede Alvarez claims he “fixed” the problem … but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

What is the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig in Xenomorph? Whatever it is, it appears to be a “solution” to what was easily the biggest flashpoint surrounding the release of Alien: Romulus. While many fans (myself included) didn’t take issue with the very concept of Ian Holm’s likeness being used as a cheap Easter egg in the Legacy sequel, it seems like the anger directed at this scene was a little misplaced understood on the way to landing on the threshold of Fede Alvarez . Instead of referring to factual In a new interview, the filmmaker simply addressed the most superficial criticism Empire. Admitting that the visuals weren’t up to par, Alvarez explained:

“We just didn’t have enough time in post-production to get it right. I wasn’t 100% happy with some shots where you could feel a bit more CG intervention. So for people who react negatively, I don’t blame them.”

So what’s different this time? Apparently, 20th Century Studios (now owned by Disney, of course) has made a rare commitment to invest additional resources into post-release VFX improvements. According to the director:

“We fixed it. We’ve improved it for release right now. I convinced the studio that we needed to spend the money and make sure we were giving the companies involved in making it the proper time to finish and do it right. It’s so much better.”

That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t quite solve the underlying problem. It’s worth noting that Ian Holm’s estate agreed to the decision (and in all likelihood agreed to be compensated for the film’s success at the box office), but does that automatically make everything okay? This very discussion turned out to be the main issue of the Screen Actors Guild strike in 2023 and the debate isn’t going away anytime soon, to say the least.

Now that I’m off my soapbox, readers may be wondering: How exactly did the creative team recreate Ian Holm’s likeness for Alien: Romulus in the first place? Director Fede Alvarez sheds light on this in the same interview with Empire. Much of the film brought back the same tactility of the original Alien, opting for practical effects and set pieces as much as possible, which were then enhanced by VFX work. The same goes for Luddy’s character, although Alvarez admits that the balance between practical and digital in the final version wasn’t quite what they intended from the start:

“(Animatronic puppeteer) Shane Mahan actually did this Ian Holm animatronic based on the Lord of the Rings headshot, and it was the only one that existed. more for puppets. It’s a lot better.”

Apparently, during production, this initial “mix of methods” ended up leaning towards the digital format, as the creative team rushed to make the film in time for release. In addition to Mahan’s animatronics, actor Daniel Betts was recognized for his facial and voice work on set. Add in the digital work that went into actually recreating Holm’s face and expressions in motion, and it really took a village to bring this entire series to life. In the end, was it worth it? Again, I’d argue that this was completely off the mark and actually put a stain on the otherwise enjoyable film (and really, really rude) to watch. Either way, you can try Alien: Romulus all over again right now in 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and digital.