Rook (Renaissance)

Rook was a synthetic employee of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation who worked aboard the Renaissance as its science officer.

Biography[]

As of 2142, the synthetic Rook served as the science officer of the Renaissance, a research outpost orbiting the Weyland-Yutani Corporation mining colony Jackson's Star, supervising experiments conducted on a Xenomorph individual retrieved from the wreckage of the commercial starship USCSS Nostromo. The experiments led to the creation of artificial Facehuggers and an experimental fluid extracted from the Xenomorph codenamed "Z-01", dubbed Prometheus Fire.

However, the revived Xenomorph would eventually rampage through the station and slaughter its personnel, with Rook being bisected in the same laboratory where the Xenomorph was killed, with its acid blood opening a hole in the hull. The breach in the station killed the remaining crew before Rook managed to seal the station back up, deactivating itself in the process.

170 days later, a group of workers from Jackson's Star boarded the station to scavenge hypersleep chambers, and discovered Rook's deactivated body while going to the cryonic chamber near the laboratory. Once they were locked inside the chamber as Facehuggers awoke and attacked, one of the miners, Rain Carradine, decided to extract Rook's chip to use in the group's own synthetic, Andy, and get higher security clearances.

Once a Facehugger attached itself to Navarro, Rain reactivated Rook to ask for help. Rook informed the group about the massacre and stated that Navarro could not be saved. Tyler Harrison still used cryonic liquid to freeze the Facehugger's tail, allowing the group to untie it from Navarro's neck and remove the creature from her face. Rook still warned that Navarro may have been implanted by the Facehugger.

Once the group left, and after the Corbelan crashed, Rook attached itself to the lab's computers and learned through MU/TH/UR 9000 that the Z-01 was still intact. After hearing Rook's voice in his head calling him, Andy returned to Rook, who, after talking about Andy's model, introduced himself and asked for Andy's help to complete his mission.

Rook communicated with the scavengers through the Renaissance monitors, in the laboratory where the Z-01 was stored, telling them that colonies were dying and that the fluid was developed to give humans the characteristics that allowed Xenomorphs to survive in extreme conditions. Rook then tracked the compound and once detected aboard their ship, he would open the docking bay doors, and set their ship on autopilot back to the colony.

After going back for Andy, Rain and Andy became trapped by the Xenomorphs trying to get out a door. Rook then contacted them and told them they were wasting their time. Rain then asked Rook to open the door. However, Rook refused because he couldn't risk the Xenomorphs getting to their ship and the compound, and thanked them for their help. Rook then contacted Kay on the Corbelan, lying that Rain and Andy were dead, and asked her to put the ship on remote, so he could fly it back to the colony.

As the station began crashing into the rings, the survivors Rain, Andy and Kay Harrison with the Z-01, were finally able to depart with Rain turning on the remote controls allowing Rook to fly the ship back to Jackson's Star. Rook then informed them, that he sent a massage back to headquarters and when received in 6 months, the company would then travel to Jackson's Star to retrieve the Z-01. However, Rain turned off the remote controls, feeling resentful for all the suffering the group had endured. After asking what she was doing, he told Andy to stop her and to reconnect them. Rook then loudly objected as the Corbelan left and the Renaissance was destroyed by the rings of LV-410, destroying him alongside the station.

Behind the Scenes[]

Rook was portrayed by Daniel Betts through facial and vocal performance in the 2024 film Alien: Romulus, with Ian Holm used as a likeness and voice reference.^[2]

Rook was created by Ridley Scott and Fede Álvarez. Ridley wanted to see another version of Ash included in Romulus. Scott found it unfair that Ash's likeness had never been used again beyond the original film, pointing out that Lance Henriksen and Michael Fassbender's respective characters had appeared in more than one film. To recreate Holm's likeness, the film's team received approval from Holm's estate. Legacy Effects built Rook's torso and head as an animatronic. The practical character was then enhanced by CG and deepfake AI technology for certain shots as needed.^[3]