Alien Romulus: Why did this character return to the sci-fi saga?

Alien Romulus: Why did this character return to the sci-fi saga?

Warning – The following article contains spoilers as it discusses what is perhaps the biggest surprise Alien: Romulus has in store. So please go ahead if you haven’t seen it yet.

When it was announced that the story of Romulus would take place between the first two parts of the sci-fi saga, many wondered that, despite the promise of introducing new characters, the film was not going to reveal that Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) woke up every 57 years among aliens and aliens to fight the Xenomorph.

Using technology to rejuvenate Luke Skywalker in the Mandalore series. But no. Nor is the heroine his daughter, as in the game Alien: Isolation, which takes place a few years before Romulus and which inspired Fede Alvarez in a different way. However, there is a surprise return to the program in addition to the Xenomorphs and other Facehuggers.

In Renaissance Station, where most of the film takes place (and where Romulus is the name of one of the districts), the heroes discover the remains of an android, which they decide to revive in order to help themselves (Andy, played by David Johnson. ) to obtain the necessary authorization and open certain doors.

What’s surprising to the public is the discovery that said android has the characteristics of… Ian Holm. Nickname Ash in the first alien. This is not the same character that was destroyed at the end of Ridley Scott’s movie with Nostromo, and the version of Romulus is called Rookie. But this raises two questions: How was a dead actor resurrected in 2020 with the features of 1979? And why did he return?

How was the map created?

The answer to this first question is quite simple. Ruki’s body and face were born through the magic of animatronics, with digital effects added in post-production to correct some imperfections (eye and mouth movements) and try to make the illusion as perfect as possible.

Even, in this case, famous “uncanny valley”The theory that the more human-like an android is, the more monstrous its imperfections are, contributes to the disturbing side of the character, sacrificing humans more than xenomorphs to Weyland’s glory. Utah.

Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in Alien

As for the voice, it was the British actor Daniel Betts who “in the flesh” Rook on set: His facial movements allowed for an animatronic version of Ian Holm, before artificial intelligence and computer modeling allowed him to have the voice of the Lord of the Rings actor.

Which is not lacking in irony when we know how artificial intelligence has never smiled at the heroes of the saga (except for Easter). But let’s move on.

Why did Ian Holm come back to life?

This is a question that goes beyond technique, as it takes us into the realm of ethics. What Rogue One and The Flash encountered was recreated by Peter Cushing and Christopher Reeve, and Robin Williams expected to never be able to recreate it digitally after his death.

in the given interview Los Angeles TimesFede Alvarez assures us: “We did it with great respect and always with the permission of his family, his children and his widow, who said, ‘We want to see his portrait again.’

However, the director does not try to introduce a wolf (or a xenomorph in Nostromo) and is not sure that artificial intelligence can replace the actors: “It’s a lot more expensive to do it the way we did it—it’s a lot cheaper to just hire an actor. It takes a team of a lot of people to do it and a lot of steps to get there, it’s never going to be. It’s very practical.”

I thought it was unfair that Lance Henriksen appeared a few times, as did Michael Fassbender. And I thought it was crazy that Ian Holm didn’t come back

But then why worry when Lance Henriksen (Bishop in Aliens and Aliens 3) is still alive? Or that David Johnson could play a second android in the same movie as Michael Fassbender in Pact? Because “He’s the one who didn’t show up again (…) We found Ian Holm fascinating.”

“for justice”he explains Diversity. “I thought it was unfair that Lance Henriksen appeared a few times, as did Michael Fassbender. And I thought it was crazy that Ian Holm didn’t come back.” So, until today, and this choice, which supports a bit of homage to the Ridley Scott film that confirmed this idea.

With the nuances of size, it is necessary: “When we talked to Ridley, we agreed that he would only have the look of Ian Holm – as opposed to Ian Holm, or even Ash. We would never dare to reproduce it because the technology does not allow us to. Reproducing the actor’s talent”.

Technology cannot reproduce the talent of an actor

“He would never be able to pick up on the nuances of someone else’s performance, or the choices they make. So we created another character who shares the same look.” Hence, the movie is called Rook, not Ash, which also allows Fede Alvarez and his team to pay homage to another android in the saga.

in french “the rock” means “round”. That’s why it goes in the direction of aliens while being in the chess field, since “The Bishop” (not James Cameron’s synthetic character) means crazy.

Source: Allocine

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