Alien: Romulus ‘fixes’ controversial CGI of Ian Holm after fans slammed choice
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After causing all kinds of controversy in 2024, Alien: Romulus appears to have ‘fixed’ its most contentious feature for its home media release. The sci-fi horror film, directed by Fede Alvarez, was the ninth film in the Alien franchise and was a big box office hit upon release.
![[Alien: Romulus ?fixes? controversial Ian Holm CGI]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235781729-b37b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 79%, it became the best-rated Alien film of the 21st century and was celebrated for its striking visuals and claustrophobic atmosphere. However, some fans took issue with the use of CGI to replace actor Sir Ian Holm – he played humanoid robot Ash in the original Alien film in 1979 and died in 2020, aged 88.
Fans were shocked to discover that new character Rook, another android, was given Sir Ian’s face – admittedly with the permission of Sir Ian’s estate. While viewers debated over the ethics of the decision, a considerable amount of criticism took aim at the poor quality of the CGI job done on Rook’s face.
![[Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5886256dq) Ian Holm Alien - 1979 Director: Ridley Scott 20th Century Fox BRITAIN Scene Still Alien, le huiti?me passager]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235781325-89d4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Even director Fede agreed, telling Empire: ‘We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right. I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with some of the shots, where you could feel a bit more the CG intervention.’. He then confessed to the long-running film magazine that he ‘doesn’t blame’ the longtime Alien fans who reacted negatively to the choice.
And it seems the criticism has been taken on board for the home release of Alien: Romulus, which was released on Blu-ray in the UK late last year. Fede explained: ‘We made it better. 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.’.
