Alien: Romulus, a critical and box office success, spawned a sequel, yet one element drew widespread criticism: the CGI depiction of Ian Holm. Holm, famed for his portrayal of Ash in Ridley Scott's Alien, returned via CGI in this "interquel," resulting in a distracting and unrealistic portrayal that prompted a popular fan edit removing his character entirely.
Director Fede Alvarez addressed the issue, admitting time constraints hampered the post-production CGI work. He stated, "We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right. I wasn’t 100% 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.”
However, the home release features improved CGI, as Alvarez explained to Empire: “We fixed it. 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.” This revised version incorporates more practical puppetry, reducing the reliance on CGI.
The Alien Movies in Chronological Order
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Despite the improvements, fan reactions remain mixed. While acknowledging a slight improvement, many still find Holm's appearance distracting, with some questioning the necessity of his inclusion. Reddit discussions highlight this ongoing debate, with comments ranging from "Better, but still awfully uncanny… and for no sound reason" to criticisms of the initial CGI quality. The consensus seems to be that while the home release is marginally better, the fundamental issues remain.
One commenter succinctly summarized the sentiment: "Let's be real, it's still awful and garish to resurrect a dead man so needlessly. They can only improve upon it so much because the initial effort was so poor.”
Nevertheless, Alien: Romulus enjoyed considerable success, grossing $350 million globally. A sequel, Alien: Romulus 2, is currently in development at 20th Century Studios, with Alvarez potentially returning to direct.
