With a box office haul of $350 million worldwide and widespread acclaim, 2024’s ‘Alien: Romulus‘ was considered a strong return to form for the sci-fi movie series (soon adding a TV show), but one crucial element bothered a lot of people: Ian Holm’s return ‘thanks’ to a combination of puppetry and CGI.

For a movie that looks so remarkably good – from the oppressive, classical set design to the astounding lighting work – Ash’s (Rook this time around) uncanny comeback was a noticeable exception. Since his presence can be felt throughout most of the movie, it tarnished the experience for many fans. However, it seems that the studio and the filmmakers were listening to the feedback and have made some key changes for the home release.

“We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right,” director Fede Álvarez said during a new interview with Empire. “I wasn’t 100 percent happy with some of the shots, where you could feel a bit more the CG intervention. So, for people that react negatively, I don’t blame them.” The filmmaker’s previous big-screen work included 2013’s fantastic ‘Evil Dead’ remake and the low-budget horror-thriller ‘Don’t Breathe’. After those, Romulus felt like a labor of old-school love through and through except for the aforementioned sequences, so it’s not entirely surprising to see him admitting something was off about them.

Álvarez convinced the powers that be to return to post-production after the movie’s cinematic release to rework some of the visuals before the domestic launch.