ALIEN: ROMULUS director confirms AI technology was used for surprise cameo, explains it wasn’t convenient

Alien: Romulus director Faith Alvarez and producer Ridley Scott confirmed that they used AI technology for a particular element of the film and defend their decision. Spoilers ahead!

If you saw Alien: Romulusthen you know it includes a synthetic that resembles the original android from the Ash franchise in Aline played by the late Ian Holm.

Scott said, “Ian Holm’s sudden appearance as a corporate robot was a great idea.” And it was, but it would have been better if the visual effects had worked.

In an interview with The LA Times, Alvarez explained how they brought this android to life, saying, “We weren’t trying to do what you can’t do, which is to replicate that person’s talent as an actor, because this is another character. The only thing they have in common is the resemblance.”

Bringing the characters to life required a mix of animatronics paired with CGI facial enhancements. The director continued, “It was 80-90% puppeteering, depending on the shot, so the animatronics had a little more life.”

As for the use of AI, Alvarez defended the decision to use it, but doesn’t think it will ever replace actors. He said, “We had an actor who was on set, working on dialogue.

“It’s not like we skipped hiring an actor. Doing it this way requires a team of so many people and so many parts to do it that it’s never really going to be cost-effective.”

I have to say that whenever the android Rook appeared on screen, it was very distracting because the visual effects were not the best, especially when the character spoke.

For me, that was the hardest part of the movie. We all know that the visual effects could have been done a lot better, so I don’t know why they didn’t nail it. Everything else about the movie was great!