You Won’t Believe How ‘Alien: Romulus’ Creators Brought Ian Holm Back to Life!

(Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t watched “Alien: Romulus” or the original 1979 “Alien,” you might want to skip this one.)

In the latest installment of the “Alien” series, “Alien: Romulus,” a familiar character makes a surprising appearance a third way into the film.

The film introduces a new “synthetic” (a humanoid android) that strikingly resembles the late actor Ian Holm, which has sparked fervent debates online. Some have labeled it as “digital necromancy.” Holm, known for his roles in “Chariots of Fire,” “Brazil,” and “The Sweet Hereafter,” passed away in 2020 at the age of 88.

In the original 1979 “Alien” film directed by Ridley Scott, Holm portrayed Ash, a secretive synthetic crew member with hidden agendas. Now, his voice and face have been digitally recreated for the character Rook, also a synthetic. Fede Alvarez, the director of “Alien: Romulus,” confirms the use of AI for this effect and urges the audience to see the broader picture of the film.

“The goal wasn’t to replicate the acting talent of the individual, but to create a different character,” says 46-year-old Alvarez in an interview with The Times. “The only similarity is the physical appearance.”

The film includes numerous references to both the original “Alien” and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel “Aliens.” The idea of a half-destroyed android interacting with the crew was always part of the plan, even before its final appearance was decided.

“We planned to create an animatronic,” Alvarez explains, referring to a lifelike robot used on set, “and enhance it later with CGI in the eyes and mouth as needed. The question was, ‘What face should it have? Who should it be?’”

Alvarez and his team considered all the synthetics in “Alien” films over the years: Lance Henriksen starred as Bishop in “Aliens” and reprised in David Fincher’s 1992 “Aliens 3” — as a legless torso on a table similar to Rook — while Michael Fassbender played David 8 in Scott’s “Prometheus” and Walter One in “Alien: Covenant.”

“The one who hadn’t returned and whom we found intriguing was Ian Holm,” says Alvarez.

Alvarez sought permission from Holm’s widow, Sophie de Stempel, and discussed the idea with Scott, who had remained in touch with Holm. Both parties welcomed the proposal for “Romulus.”

“In the last 10 years after ‘The Hobbit,’ Ian Holm felt neglected by Hollywood, and his widow believed he would have cherished being part of this,” Alvarez shares. “He greatly admired this character.”

Scott views Rook’s presence as Alvarez’s opportunity to “revisit some relics from the first movie.”

“Having Ian Holm reappear as a company robot onboard was a brilliant idea,” says 86-year-old Scott. “That’s how creative ideas develop. The next progression is ‘Blade Runner,’ where you see Roy Batty as an advanced replicant, a non-human human, or in old terminology, a robot.”

Scott reminisces how in the first “Alien,” it was a pivotal moment when it was revealed that Holm’s character, Ash, was not human as they had to be careful about how much of the creature they revealed. “We were running out of big, quick scares and glimpses of an alien because back then, we didn’t have these digital effects,” he says.

In “Romulus,” Rook was designed as an animatronic in the image of Holm, with facial movements controlled by off-camera human operators.

“80 to 90% of it was done by puppeteers depending on the shot,” Alvarez describes, with subsequent CGI enhancements done in post-production on the eyes and mouth for better lip synchronization.

British actor Daniel Betts was on set in Budapest to record the facial capture with the cast. The lines were read live using the animatronic, and Betts’ voice was then manipulated to sound more like Holm’s using AI and computer modeling.

“We’re not reviving someone and saying, ‘Ian would have acted this way,’” says Alvarez. “He would have undoubtedly done it differently. We had an actor on set, working on the dialogue with the other actors. We didn’t skip hiring an actor.”

Alvarez doesn’t foresee AI replacing actors anytime soon. His decision to use AI to create Rook was solely for this film and this franchise.

“The way we did it is much costlier than simply hiring an actor,” Alvarez defends. “It entails a huge team and multiple components that make it far from convenient.”

Alvarez insists that Rook is distinct from Ash, and his reason for using Holm’s likeness and voice was to pay tribute to his contribution to the franchise.

“We did everything respectfully and with the approval of his family, his children, and his widow, who said, ‘We would love to see his likeness again,’” Alvarez concludes.