How they made those xenomorphs, facehuggers & chestbursters in Alien Romulus

Let’s delve into the creative process behind the successful reintroduction of the xenomorphs, facehuggers, and chestbursters in Alien: Resurrection, Alien.

Or, we can explore how these creatures from Alien: Resurrection and Alien were meticulously designed to revitalize the franchise.

Resurrection and Alien that led to the franchise’s successful reboot.

The Xenomorph, also known as Xeno, is the enigmatic alien species central to the “Alien” movie series. In the storyline by Alvarez for “Alien: Romulus,” it was decided to use traditional effects when designing this creature. As per the Legacy team, a total of four complete Xenomorphs were crafted, a project that involved 80 artists from various fields such as digital art, concept design, mold making, sculpting, painting, and robotics. All these artists worked based on shared functional design concepts to ensure consistency across all creations. This creature is characterized by its acidic blood, lack of need for food, adaptability to any atmosphere, skeletal humanoid shape with an elongated head and a bony tail. It’s the pinnacle of evolution in the universe and serves as a deadly weapon.

It was crucial for Alvarez that the actors could work with a fully operational animatronic Xenomorph, as he envisioned its surfaces to be rough and sharp, similar to a shark’s skin, such that anyone who touched it would get cut. Shane Mahan explains this idea.

At Legacy Effects, everyone was extremely dedicated to ensuring the Xeno resembled the iconic creature from the original “Alien” film. Each of the four Xenomorphs served distinct roles. The primary Xenomorph character is a lifelike, fully robotic animatronic standing approximately eight feet tall and extremely slender. Additionally, there’s a lighter-weight rod puppet animatronic of the same size, operated by a single performer to execute quicker and agile movements.

In simpler terms, the other two Xenos are robotic heads connected to a full-body suit worn by a stunt performer. The inner skeletal structure is covered by a clear dome with see-through sections in its arms and legs. When light shines through it in certain conditions, it gives an appearance of a lattice or grid. With its narrow waist, long limbs, and insect-like features, it resembles an insect quite strongly.

In many instances featuring the Xenomorph creature, a mix of four elements is utilized: mechanical animatronics, costumes, traditional Japanese puppetry known as bunraku, and computer-generated imagery (CGI). The seamless blend of the flexibility from bunraku, the swiftness of an actor in a suit, and the intricate movements of full animatronics creates a unique entity that is both reminiscent of older techniques and cutting-edge. As Mahan explains, “During the first minute, viewers should simply immerse themselves in the spectacle without questioning the methodology, but rather become engrossed in the narrative.” This successful immersion means we have achieved our objective.

In the cocoon, Xenos grow and eventually exit, boasting a see-through exterior. As described by Mahan, “Electricity lights up its interior so you can peer within.” To create this effect, we utilized some of the prop wires that traverse the hallway, and crafted an internal lighting device to illuminate it while it’s still in its gooey, unsavory state.

THE FACEHUGGERS (WĒTĀ WORKSHOP):

In a thrilling turn of events, the iconic alien creatures known as facehuggers make their grand comeback, masterfully crafted by Wētā Workshop under the guidance of creative lead Richard Taylor. These new iterations come in a variety of forms, totaling 12 unique designs that all represent the same species. Among them are fully animated facehuggers capable of opening doors and responding to programming commands. Some merely move slightly, while others are attached to moving vehicles or operated remotely, scuttling across the ground on their legs.

The facehugger is a spidery, alien parasite characterized by bony digits, human-esque skin, and an elongated tongue that inserts into its host’s mouth to plant an embryo which merges with the host’s genetic material for rapid development. It lacks eyes but locates humans based on their thermal emissions (body heat).

In a thrilling sequence within the cryo-lab, Tyler (played by Archie Renaux) has an alarmingly close brush with a facehugger. He describes the encounter, “A facehugger’s proboscis managed to slip into my mouth slightly.” He goes on to express his revulsion, “They are absolutely revolting, I must say.

The facehuggers sport a silicon exterior, enclosing either an aluminum skeleton within or 3D printed nylon joints. Actress Aileen Wu, portraying Navarro, filmed with this creature for several days. Initially, she found them adorable. However, after enduring one on her face for a solid six hours, she concluded that they were absolutely not cute in the least.

In this animated adaptation, a joystick maneuvered the movements of eight mechanical arms, beak, and joints. Weta FX crafted more than 70 replicas of the facehugger creatures in all. At a certain plot point, the room was defrosted, causing several of them to plunge into the water, swim, and aggressively attack. In this scene, no less than seven puppeteers controlled over twenty facehuggers concurrently.

In this project, Ben Fairless, Wētā’s team leader, designed the F44AA pulse rifle – a sophisticated animatronic firearm. This weapon features an internal recoil mechanism and a rail that slides, linked to bellows pulling from an interior vaporizer. It can generate a muzzle flash and includes an interactive light as well as a counter displaying the ammo count for each round shot. The characters in the story rely heavily on this potent weapon for protection against the Xeno and facehuggers.

THE CHESTBURSTER (STUDIO GILLIS):

In Ridley Scott’s classic film “Alien,” one unforgettable moment is the chestburster scene, which was initially conceptualized by the renowned Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Geiger. For the creation of the chestburster and egg effects in “Alien: Romulus,” Alvarez contacted Alec Gillis, owner of Studio Gillis who has worked on “Aliens,” “Alien 3,” and “Alien vs. Predator.”

One memorable scene from Ridley Scott’s movie “Alien” is the chestburster scene, initially imagined by Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Geiger. For the special effects of the chestburster and egg in “Alien: Romulus,” Alvarez contacted Alec Gillis, owner of Studio Gillis who has experience working on “Aliens,” “Alien 3,” and “Alien vs. Predator.

Gillis shared that he watched the first ‘Alien’ film just like everyone else. Interestingly, he was seated next to James Cameron during this viewing, a time before either of them had entered the film industry. Five years later, Gillis found himself on the set of ‘Aliens’, working alongside Jim under Stan Winston.

The chestburster refers to a giant, worm-like extraterrestrial organism that gets embedded in the chest cavity of its host through an action performed by a facehugger. Once it matures, this creature lives and emerges from the host’s chest area.

In “Alien: Romulus,” the chestburster resembles its original form but has been slightly altered. It now features moving arms and improved joint flexibility. As Gillis explains, while the creature effects in the original Alien were revolutionary, there was not much room for enhancement. However, we’ve updated certain techniques, adding a color-shifting feature and making it smaller compared to the original.

The chestburster is consistently coated in a slimy substance, often appearing glossy and gooey. During filming, Gillis frequently found himself drenched in blood and slime, but he utilized methylcellulose, a type of starch, mixed with water to create clear slime as a base. This was the foundation for all the designers’ additions, ensuring the creatures had a wet, shiny appearance with the desired thickness. With this base, Gillis then crafted blood of multiple colors and consistencies.

In unison, The Legacy team and Gillis assert that the key component for all creatures lies in the use of ultraslime. This substance boasts a transparent, extraordinarily stretchy texture that mimics saliva, mucus, and other bodily fluids, contributing to the realism of the creatures. As Gillis explains, “It contains an additive with a very stringy and wet quality.” He further notes that this slime has been instrumental in creating the iconic appearance of creatures seen in movies like ‘Aliens,’ featuring their characteristic dripping, stringy look.

….and that’s How they made those xenomorphs, facehuggers & chestbursters in Alien Romulus

2025-02-01 03:24

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