“Somehow they made it look worse”— Alien: Romulus streaming edits spark backlash over Rook VFX changes

Alien: Romulus was released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Set between Alien and Aliens, director Fede Alvarez aimed to deliver a classic Alien adventure that would resonate with fans. One notable decision involved bringing back the late actor Ian Holm through the use of CGI, AI, and puppetry. Holm, who famously portrayed the antagonistic android Ash in the original movie, was digitally recreated to portray the android Rook.

However, upon release, many fans criticized the use of digital necromancy. The decision to recreate Ian Holm was deemed disrespectful by some, and the effects used to create him were also criticized. In response, for the home release of Alien: Romulus, some adjustments were made to Rook's CGI, with Fede Alvarez confirming these tweaks.

This decision reignited the conversation about Holm's inclusion in the film, with fans once again criticizing the decision. Many especially took issue with the visual effects. One netizen on X commented:

"somehow they made it look worse"

Other netizens echoed similar sentiments on the social media platform.

"The problem isn’t that it looks bad. The problem is that it’s there at all," shared another fan disappointed by Holm's inclusion.

"I'm moreso shocked at how bad it is regardless. like this kind of necromancy sucks in general but I thought we had got to a point where filmmakers and vfx crews could make it look a lot better than this," opined another fan.

Opinions on Holm's inclusion in Alien: Romulus continued to vary, with some viewers arguing that the tweaks made to the VFX still looked bad and suggesting that another actor should have been cast in the role.

"The crazy thing is that this already was an animatronic, they just put shi**y AI over the puppet when they could have done the whole thing practically and made Rook's face more damaged like the Bishop animatronic in Alien 3, he's supposed to be a broken android anyway," said one fan.

"If they were going to make a change, they could’ve cut it out of the movie entirely…," said another fan.

"First time seeing this in high def dude this is unbelievable lol. why wasn't EVERYBODY furious about this? more people were up in arms about those bumper cards in that one movie. this is literally one of the ugliest and most evil things i have ever seen in a movie before," shared another fan.

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Alien: Romulus is set 20 years after the first film

Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien series, directed by Fede Alvarez. Released in theaters on August 16, 2024, the film introduces a fresh perspective into the Alien franchise. Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, it follows a group of young workers who stumble upon an abandoned space station. However, there they are met with the ultimate life form.

The official synopsis for Alien: Romulus reads:

"While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."

The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Alieen Wu, and more. It is currently available for streaming on Disney+ or Hulu.