I lovedAlien: Romulus, butI believe bringing back a different actor from the franchise would’ve been a better choice for Rook. Firstly, I thought the freshAlien: Romuluscastdid a phenomenal job at establishing a new era for the franchise, and they’re undoubtedly a close contender for my favorite crew from anyAlienfilm. My biggest gripe, however, was with the decision to bring back Ian Holm posthumously to play the android Rook when other android actors from the previousAlienmovies are still around.
Setting aside any moral debate regarding bringing back a dead actor with CGI,my main issue with Rook inAlien: Romuluswas that I found the CGI itself to be rather off-putting. I would much rather have seen an original character introduced or a different old character brought back. With some time to mull over it, I support the notion thatRomulusis one ofthe bestAlienmovies, but that doesn’t mean it’s without flaws, and there are certain elements I would have liked to see play out differently.
Michael Fassbender Should’ve Played Rook In Alien: Romulus
David Is One Of The Best Characters In The Alien Franchise
First, I should state that this isn’t being said with any gripe towards Ian Holm. Playing Bilbo Baggins inThe Lord of the Ringsputs him in elite company of beloved actors in my book, and he’s iconic in the originalAlienfilm.Romulusis packed withreferences to olderAlienmovies, and it makes sense that they’d want to feature a character audiences were familiar with, aside from just the Xenomorph. With that being said,Michael Fassbender is still around, and he was the best part of twoAlienmovies that, in my opinion, didn’t receive their due respect.
Alien: Romulus Box Office Breaks An All-Time Horror Movie Record
Alien: Romulus box office continues to reach major milestones for the franchise, with the latest record becoming an all-time for a horror movie.
PrometheusandAlien: Covenantboth received mixed reviews upon their releases in the 2010s and while they’re far from perfect movies, I admire the contributions they made to theAlienfranchise. Perhaps it’s because I prefer science fiction to horror, but I appreciated the perspective of stepping back from the usual monster premise and instead focusing on the origins of the Xenomorph and the lore of theAlienworld. There’s some incredible world-building in those movies, and Michael Fassbender isunbelievablein them.
Michael Fassbender’s Alien: Romulus Return Would’ve Strengthened The Movie’s Prequel Connections
Romulus Could Have Expanded On Alien: Covenant’s Story
Elements like theblack goo fromPrometheusfound their way intoAlien: Romulus, butall in all, the new film largely corresponds more with the original 1979 classic. It makes sense that the production would want to pursue this route, given the dicey responses to the previous two prequels, but I’d be immensely disappointed if future films continued to stray away from them. Incorporating Michael Fassbender intoAlien: Romuluswould’ve been the perfect way to avoid this circumstance, as he’s essentially the main attraction of the prequels.
With no sequel toAlien: Covenantcoming,it seems like David’s story in theAlienfranchise is concluded for the time being. WithAlien: Earthin developmentfor FX and, hopefully, moreAlienmovies followingRomulus’sbox office success, I’d love to see that character make his way back into the story. Ridley Scott established beautiful philosophical and existential narratives, and there’s still so much room to explore more. If Fede Álvarez is claiming the mantle, he should follow in Scott’s footsteps by incorporating some of the original plans forCovenantsequels into his movies.
Why Alien: Romulus Didn’t Use Michael Fassbender To Play Rook
Fede Álvarez Wanted An Actor Who Hadn’t Reappeared In The Franchise Yet
Speaking on the matter of Ian Holm’s return inAlien: Romulus,Fede Álvarez talked about his intentions, saying:“The only one who hadn’t reappeared and who we found fascinating was Ian Holm.“It seems like the decision to incorporate Holm, who hadn’t participated in the franchise since playing Ash in the 1979 film, was done out of respect for the late great actor and not with any explicit intention of avoiding Michael Fassbender’s character. It was certainlyan interesting choice to see Holm on screen again.
TheAlienfranchise timelinegets a bit messy, and I’m not exactly sure what android models make sense to be appearing in different films. Given thatRomulusis much closer toAlienchronologically, it seems like having the Ash/Rook model was the best bet. At this point in the film series, David and Walter are decades old, and it seems fitting that their looks would be out of style by the time ofAlien: Romulus. Still, I can’t help but hope we haven’t seen the last of Fassbender or David.
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
