Romulus Director: Late Actor’s Family Approved AI Resurrection

Fede Álvarez has shared that Ian Holm’s family allowed him to use the late actor’s likeness in his new film, Alien: Romulus.

The 46-year-old director utilized generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to bring back Holm, who passed away in 2020. In the sci-fi prequel, Holm appears as a robot named Rook, resembling his original Alien character, Ash, in both appearance and voice.

Álvarez’s choice to digitally resurrect Holm has faced criticism, with some calling it an aesthetic failure and disrespectful to the actor’s memory. However, Álvarez explained to the Los Angeles Times that he took great care to obtain the family’s permission for Holm’s inclusion in Romulus.

“In the last 10 years after The Hobbit, Ian Holm felt like Hollywood had turned its back on him,” Álvarez said. “His widow felt he would have loved to be a part of this project. He was particularly fond of this character.”

He emphasized that the project was approached with respect and with the family’s blessing. “We did it all with a lot of respect and always with the authorization of his family, his children, and his widow, who said, ‘We would love to see his likeness again.’”

According to the filmmaker, between 80 and 90 percent of Holm’s appearances were created using animatronics – mechanical puppets – enhanced by computer-generated imagery (CGI).

AI technology was also used to modify another actor’s voice to sound like Holm’s.

Álvarez dismissed fears that AI in filmmaking would replace actors entirely, pointing out the lengthy and complex process involved. “Doing it this way requires a team of so many people and so many parts to get it done that it’s never going to be really convenient,” he stated.

The discussion comes amidst another incident involving Álvarez. The director was recently banned from Reddit for “impersonating” himself.

Álvarez had briefly joined a subreddit forum dedicated to the Alien films to interact with fans. However, moderators flagged his account for allegedly lying about his identity, leading to a permanent ban from the subreddit.

“Got banned from the ALIEN subreddit for apparently trying to impersonate, myself,” Álvarez wrote on X/Twitter, accompanied by a laughing emoji and a screenshot of the notification he received.

Later, a moderator clarified that Álvarez had been “immediately reinstated” and described their subsequent conversation as very friendly, praising him as an “awesome guy”.