Alien: Romulus has successfully revived the Alien series with more than $100 million worldwide already, but the new movie hasn't been without controversy.
Like in other blockbusters including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Rogue One, the new movie uses digital effects to bring back an actor with a connection to the fans which has led to a backlash against the decision.
Director Fede Alvarez – who also co-wrote the movie – has now addressed the controversy and defended the decision in a new interview.
But if you haven't seen Alien: Romulus yet, don't read past the photo as there are spoilers ahead.
Related: The best Alien: Romulus decision was casting David Jonsson as Andy
Alien: Romulus brings back the late Ian Holm, but not as Ash from Alien. Instead, he's playing Renaissance science officer Rook, who is of the same synthetic model as Ash so looks exactly like him.
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"We were not trying to do what can't be done, which is to reproduce that person's talent as an actor, because this is another character," Alvarez told the Los Angeles Times.
"The only thing they have in common is the likeness. We knew we were going to create an animatronic and that later we were going to do CGI enhancements in the mouth and in the eyes depending on the shots.
"Then the question arose, 'What face does it have? Who is it?'. The only one who hadn't reappeared and who we found fascinating was Ian Holm."
Related: Alien: Romulus director explains major Prometheus connection
Previously, Alvarez explained that he made the decision to bring back Holm as he felt Ash was "the best [synthetic] of them all" and deserved a return like Michael Fassbender's David.
He added that Holm's widow was "thrilled" by the idea and his family were the first to see a "rough version".
"They lost him not too long ago, and I lost my dad, too, around the same time. So I could relate to their pain and also their excitement to see him back in the movie," Alvarez recalled.
Alien: Romulus is out now in cinemas.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
