This story contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.
Director Fede Alvarez has chosen Isabela Merced for the role in Alien: Romulus long before it was announced that she would appear in the second season of the HBO series The Last of Us. However, it was Merced's character in The Last of Us which influenced his great scene in Romulus.
In Alien: RomulusMerced plays Kay, a character whose graphic birth scene stands out as one of the wildest sequences in the franchise. Meanwhile, Merced will also play Dina, a character from the video game The Last of Us – Part IIin the second season of the TV adaptation. In the game, Dina is pregnant, a part of the story that influenced the script of RomulusAs Alvarez explained in a post on X, Dina's pregnancy inspired him to similarly impregnate Kay's character in Alien film. Where it gets weird is when Alvarez tells how this decision was made before Merced was cast as OR role.
Alvarez said: “Fun fact: I was playing [The Last of Us Part II] while I was writing [Alien: Romulus]The story of Dina being pregnant made me think that Kay's character would be pregnant too. Then I cast Isabella Merced to play Kay… A year later she was cast as Dina in the HBO show…. True story.”
Isabela Merced Calls Her Alien Romulus Scene Disgusting
Before the release of RomulusMerced had warned viewers about her big scene. While she didn't spoil any specific details about her character or what might happen in the scene, with no hint that it involved a birth, Merced said it was so “gross” that even the cast and crew had a hard time watching the footage.
“There's a scene where I'm in, and everyone had to turn around. No one stayed to look at that iPad because it was so disgusting,” he told THR.
Merced also spoke about how much she identifies with Dina's character. She noted how she actually enjoys serving as a “light” for others, making people happy in times when it's needed. Merced explained how Dina is the same to the point that they would probably handle the apocalypse pretty similarly, too.
“[Dina is] kind of a light in Ellie's life, in Ellie's world. I think that's the consensus, because you look at the video game, and she's really the only one who gets kind of a decent ending,” Merced said, per Total Film. “I love, more than anything, being that light for the people in my life. And I love making them laugh, and I love making them understand better. I just love helping in general. I think Dina is very close to my personality. I think we're both very silly, and I think maybe I would handle the apocalypse similarly if I were in it.”
Alien: Romulus is now in theaters.
Source: Fede Alvarez on X