‘Alien: Romulus’ Director on the Ending’s Insane New Monster and Resurrecting [SPOILER] From ‘Alien’: His Family ‘Was on Board With This Idea’

As a seasoned movie critic who has traversed the silver screen landscape for decades, I must say that “Alien: Romulus” is nothing short of a masterful tribute to Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece. Fede Álvarez’s dedication to honoring the entire Alien mythology is truly commendable. The resurrection of Ian Holm’s likeness as Ash, albeit not the man himself, was a stroke of genius that added an intriguing layer to the story.

Warning: Contents Disclosure: This write-up delves into key storylines and the climax of the movie “Alien: Romulus,” currently screening in cinemas.

From the start, Fede Álvarez aimed to pay tribute not only to the standout films “Alien” and “Aliens” in the series but also to the entire Alien mythology when embarking on the production of “Alien: Romulus.” As he expressed, “‘We must embrace them all'” was his mindset during this process, according to EbMaster.

Despite this, Álvarez constructed a crucial element of the “Romulus” tale around a character who perished in the initial film – Ash, the synthetic human portrayed by the late Ian Holm with unnerving loyalty to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the franchise’s ruthless capitalist powers. Following the expansions of the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen) in “Alien 3” and “Alien vs. Predator,” as well as Michael Fassbender’s David guiding both prequels, Álvarez felt it was time for Holm’s character (or more specifically, his appearance) to be revived.

“He explains, ‘I felt it was only fair,’ since ‘Lance Henriksen and Michael Fassbender both had numerous appearances, and it seemed unfair to me that Ian Holm wasn’t brought back.’ “

Alvarez prioritized creating realistic effects, so he opted to build a functioning robot to work alongside the young actors in the storyline. This story revolves around a team of youthful settlers who venture into a space station in disrepair for salvage operations. The requirement for a character to explain why the ship was abandoned led to conversations about an android that resembles Ash, an older model.

Álvarez emphasizes that in conversation with Ridley, they conceived the notion: “What if this character resembles Ian Holm, but is not identical to him or even his iconic character Ash?”. He stresses that such a reproduction would be audacious due to technology’s incapability of recreating an actor’s unique talent and the subtlety of their performances. Instead, they created a new character who bears a similar likeness to Ian Holm.

As a movie enthusiast, I felt compelled to tread carefully when considering this project, especially since it involved the late, great Kirk Douglas. To ensure everyone was on the same page, I reached out first to obtain the blessings of his family. I personally contacted his widow and children to discuss the idea, wanting to make sure that they were comfortable with the proposal. Having lost my father in 2021, the year that Douglas passed away, I understood their potential reservations about seeing another actor portray him on screen.

“He mentioned that his wife shared with him how Ian felt overlooked by Hollywood during the last decade of his life, receiving few job opportunities. Additionally, she stated that Ian had expressed a deep desire to rejoin the ‘Alien’ series, as he held a great affection for Ridley Scott and the franchise.”

Álvarez acknowledges that while he appreciated using animatronics to feature Holm’s likeness again on screen, he emphasizes that the complexities involved in creating those sequences make it unlikely for such ideas to occur frequently. He recalls a comment like, “This is our replacement as actors,” to which he responded, “Man, if I hire you, it’ll cost me the money of one person. To do it this way, you need to employ 45 people! And even then, you still need an actor for the performance!”

Reviving a character akin to Ash seems almost inevitable for me: the original “Alien” movie is not just a masterpiece, but its scenes are etched deeply in the minds of fans within the franchise. However, there’s a part during the film’s climax that links the action of “Romulus” to other, less favorably received installments.

In this movie, the character Kay (Isabela Merced) delivers a unique being born from a mix of human and extraterrestrial genetic material. This unusual creature, referred to as “the offspring” by the producers, bears a striking resemblance to the Engineers, an alien species that created humans in the first place. Additionally, its form echoes the outline of the humanoid xenomorph, which was birthed by a clone of Ripley in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 1997 film “Alien Resurrection.”

It turns out that Álvarez hadn’t made the connection until his son mentioned it at the movie premiere. After watching all the ‘Alien’ movies with a friend, his son pointed out that the creature in the film resembled the one from “Resurrection.” The director admits he hadn’t thought of it in those terms before, but acknowledges the similarity – it’s like an abomination emerging. He had primarily been concerned with the mythology presented in Scott’s prequels, ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Alien: Covenant’, which delve into the genetic origins of humans and aliens. Álvarez hopes that viewers noticed the Engineer aspect of it.

According to Álvarez, the “black goo” is fundamental to the entire storyline presented in ‘Prometheus’. He describes it as the origin of all life, and more specifically, the substance from which xenomorphs are born. This suggests that this mysterious substance must be present within the xenomorphs themselves. Essentially, the black goo acts like the xenomorphs’ semen. When considering how this substance alters DNA and the Engineers share a common origin with the xenomorphs, it logically follows to Álvarez that any offspring between a human and a xenomorph would resemble the creature we know as the xenomorph.

Instead of resolving the multiple storylines and timelines, Álvarez acknowledges that the newly created life-form might instead pose even more questions than it answers. “Probably, it’s a brand new species,” he says, “as such a combination has never occurred before.”

2024-08-17 20:17

‘Alien: Romulus’ Director on the Ending’s Insane New Monster and Resurrecting [SPOILER] From ‘Alien’: His Family ‘Was on Board With This Idea’

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