How Did Ian Holm Return inAlien: Romulus4 Years After His Death? With CGI and Permission from His Widow

Mar. 15, 2025

Ian Holm in 1979’s Alien.Photo:Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty; Robert Penn/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty; Robert Penn/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The latestAlienmovie brought the franchise’s fans a major surprise when it recreated the likeness of the lateIan Holm.

“It was unfair that the likeness of Ash was never used again,“Romulusdirector Fede Álvarez toldThe Hollywood Reporterof the decision to use Holm’s likeness. Álvarez, 46, pointed out that other actors who portrayed synthetic characters in the series like Lance Henriksen andMichael Fassbenderappeared in multiple movies and said that series creator Scott, 86, wanted to bring back Holm’s character — or at least his likeness.

“So when we started thinking about the likeness of this character with Ridley, it was going to be a torso [and head] that we would build,” he said. “So it didn’t need to be the likeness of a current working actor, and Ridley was the one who said, ‘Ash was always the best. He needs to make a comeback.’ "

Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in 1979’s Alien.Robert Penn/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

Robert Penn/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

“So we went for it with the permission of the family: his widow and all of his kids,” the filmmaker added. “We wanted to make sure everybody was on board with the idea of bringing his likeness back.”

Sure enough, the movie’s final credits credit Holm as a “facial and vocal reference” for the character Rook, while Daniel Betts performed as the character on set. Holm’s estate also receives a special thanks in the film’s closing credits.

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“Rook is a different character, but I play with your prejudice because fans of the original know that face,” Álvarez toldTHRabout inserting Holm’s face into the film. “There’s also a whole generation [of new viewers] that are going to watch this movie and the character is not going to mean much to them. They’re not going to feel that effect, but for the ones who’ve seen the original, they know that he shouldn’t be trusted.”

Ian Holm on set of 1979’s Alien.Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Android characters in theAlienfranchise often function as antagonists to human protagonists. The originalAlienmovie makes a major plot twist out of the reveal that Holm’s character is a robot.

Alien: Romulusis in theaters now.

source: people.com