Alien: Romulus director Fede Alvarez has revealed that the controversial CGI inclusion of the late Ian Holm, who died in 2020, has been "fixed" for the movie's home release.
Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus follows a group of young colonists who encounter a Xenomorph when attempting to leave their mining colony.
Making a cameo appearance which left many fans unimpressed, Holm, who starred as a synthetic named Ash in 1979's Alien, was featured in the movie as a dismembered science officer named Rook.
Related: Alien: Romulus is now available to watch at home
Speaking to Empire, Alvarez revealed that the controversial cameo has been updated to coincide with the home entertainment release of the film, explaining that there wasn't enough time to "get it right" for the cinematic release.
"We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right," Alvarez said. "I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with some of the shots, where you could feel a bit more the CGI intervention. So, for people that react negatively, I don’t blame them."
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Confirming that the home entertainment release of the film will feature a newly improved version of the synthetic, the director said: "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.
Related: When will Alien: Romulus be released on Disney+?
"[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."
Set to land on Disney+ on Wednesday, January 15, the horror sequel's new streaming release will include the improved CGI.
Alien: Romulus is available to buy digitally from Prime Video, iTunes, Microsoft Store and more in the UK, and will be released on Disney+ on January 15.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
