Alien: Romulus Home Release Features "Fixed" Effects

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Posted in: Horror, Movies | Tagged: Alien: Romulus, fede alvarez, ian holm

Alien: Romulus Home Release Features "Fixed" Effects

Director Fede Alvarez says that they went in and "fixed" the biggest CGI problem many had with last year's Alien: Romulus.

Published Fri, 10 Jan 2025 13:17:07 -0600
by Jeremy Konrad
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Article Summary

  • Alien: Romulus home release fixes CGI issues with Ian Holm's character, enhancing the film's realism.
  • Director Fede Alvarez addresses the fan criticism and ensures improved effects in the home version.
  • Practical effects, like Shane Mahan's animatronic, contribute to more believable visuals.
  • Available on digital and physical media, Alien: Romulus continues strengthening the iconic franchise.

Alien: Romulus was released in theaters in the summer and was well-liked by audiences and critics alike. Telling a story that takes place between the original film and Aliens, the film featured strong characters, great Xenomorph action, and many callbacks to the franchise. One such callback, and a controversial one for fans, was including Ian Holm's classic android character Rook from the original. It was done with the permission of his estate, as Holm passed away in 2020. Unfortunately, the final product in theaters had the uncanny valley problem that many digital characters have. According to director Fede Alvarez, this has been fixed in the home release.

Alien: Romulus Paid Great Respect To Rook If You Ask Me

The director spoke to Empire about the unfortunate look in theaters and how they fixed it for future viewers for the home release of Alien: Romulus:  "We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right. 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 reacted negatively, I don't blame them. We fixed it. We made it better for the release right now. I convinced the studio we needed to spend the money and make sure we gave the companies that were involved in making it the proper time to finish it and do it right. It's so much better." [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; what we did [for the home entertainment version] was revert a lot more to the puppet, it's way better."

Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

This proves that you always go practical and build from there whenever possible. So many productions are moving too fast, crushing the schedule for effects. That needs to change, and fast. That way, things like this can be avoided in the future.

Alien: Romulus is now available in both digital services and physical media.

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