Alien: Romulus was filled with surprises for fans of the Alien franchise, so it’s fitting that, months later, it’s got one big, final twist for everyone. No, nothing with that insanely creepy alien hybrid from the end of the movie. We mean a tweak to the visual effects for the home release in one of its most controversial scenes.
In the film, the crew encounters an android named Rook who is aboard the titular ship with an allegiance to the evil corporation, Weyland-Yutani. Rook looks exactly like Ash, played by Ian Holm in the original Alien, because he’s the same make and model as Ash. Holm passed away in 2020 though, so with the permission of his widow, director Fede Alvarez and his team recreated Holm’s likeness with a combination of practical effects, visual effects, and on-set acting. You can read about the specifics here, as well as why people were a bit upset about it.
Turns out though, when Romulus hit theaters last summer, Alvarez wasn’t quite happy with how the effect looked either. “We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right,” he told Empire Magazine. “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.”
Knowing that, Alvarez and the team went back to the shots for the home release and improved him. He confirmed the action on X (noticed by Screencrush) and then explained more over at Empire. “We fixed it,” he said. “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.”
There isn’t a video comparing the two (yet), but according to Alvarez, the new effect on the home release was achieved by leaning more into the physical side of the creation instead of the digital, which was the opposite of the theatrical release. “[Animatronic puppeteer] Shane Mahan actually did this animatronic of Ian Holm based on a head cast from Lord of the Rings, and that was the only one in existence,” Alvarez said. “What we did [for the home release] was revert a lot more to the puppet. It’s way better.”
Alien: Romulus has been available at home (including VHS!) for a few weeks now. Did you notice a change?
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