*Alien: Romulus* has been a massive success, both critically and at the box office, leading to the announcement of a sequel. However, one element of the film drew widespread criticism: the CGI recreation of the late Ian Holm, who portrayed the android Ash in the original *Alien* and reprised his role in *Alien: Romulus*. The CGI was so poorly received that a popular fan edit removed Holm's character entirely. Director Fede Alvarez acknowledged the issue in an interview with Empire, stating, “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.”
The Alien Movies in Chronological Order
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For the home release, Alvarez insisted on fixing the CGI, saying, “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.” The updated version leans more on practical puppet work than CGI. However, fans remain divided on the effectiveness of these changes. While some acknowledge a slight improvement, many still find Holm's appearance distracting and question the necessity of his inclusion in the film.
Alien Romulus - Rook CGI Updates BluRay vs Digital
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“Better, but still awfully uncanny… and for no sound reason,” remarked Kwtwo1983 on Reddit. “Should’ve messed his face up much more,” suggested thelastcupoftea. “It looked awful in theaters and it looked awful when I rewatched it on Blu-ray.” “Still such a needless and distracting part of the movie…” commented Smug_amoeba. “Both look bad and one is a bit darker lol,” noted Worried_Bowl_9489. The comparison shows that the home release features more of the practical puppet, with less emphasis on the CGI face.
“Let's be real, it's still awful and garish to resurrect a dead man so needlessly,” TheUrPigeon added. “They can only improve upon it so much because the initial effort was so poor.”
Despite the CGI controversy, *Alien: Romulus* revitalized the franchise upon its summer debut, grossing an impressive $350 million globally. In October, 20th Century Studios announced plans for *Alien: Romulus 2*, which would continue the story, with Fede Alvarez potentially returning to direct.
