The Alien franchise was actually created by the late writer Dan O’Bannon and his colleague Ronald Shusett, who wrote the original story, which was later adapted into one of the best sci-fi and horror movies of all time. It was Ridley Scott who made the franchise popular with his Alien movie, and the rest is, as you know quite well – history.

Since then, the franchise has broadened its world and explored its own roots, although the most recent entry, the currently airing Alien: Romulus, is set between Alien and Aliens and returns to the original timeline of the universe. The film was released on August 16, 2024, and it figures as a sequel to Alien.

The reactions to the movie were quite positive, and the money is also pouring in, but while both fans and critics are, more or less, amazed with the movie, there was one controversial moment that somewhat shocked and bothered fans, which is why the director Fede Álvarez decided to react.

You probably know which moment we are talking about, but in case you did not guess it, we’re talking about the return of “Ian Holm” to the franchise. The late actor played Ash the android in Scott’s 1979 film, and while his role was not the most noble one, he remained a popular character and one of the symbols of the franchise.

Now, Ian Holme died in 2020, while Ash died in Scott’s 1979 movie. And sure, Alien: Romulus acts as a sequel to Alien and a prequel to Aliens, but it still bothered some fans to see the late actor back in the movie, although – as it turned out – he did not play Ash, but rather another version of the same android model. And, of course, as it turned out, it wasn’t even Ian Holm, but a puppet that was enhanced using AI.

This proved to be controversial, but director Alvarez explained the decision to have Ian Holm’s replica in the movie:

“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. 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.”

Source: Los Angeles Times

The director also confirmed that they had contacted Holm’s widow and that she gave them a green light, believing that her late husband would have loved to be a part of the movie.

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