This story contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.

Filmmaker Fede Alvarez cast Isabela Merced’s 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. Nevertheless, Merced’s character in The Last of Us this influenced her big 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 Season 2 of the television adaptation. In the game, Dina happens to be pregnant, a part of the story that influenced the script for RomulusAs Alvarez explained in a post on X, Dina’s pregnancy inspired him to create the character Kay in the Foreigner Film. Things get strange when Alvarez tells how this decision was made before Merced was cast either Role.

Alvarez said: “Fun fact: I played (The Last of Us Part II) when writing (Alien: Romulus). The story of the pregnant Dina gave me the idea to make the character Kay pregnant as well. Then I hired Isabella Merced to play Kay. A year later she was hired to play Dina in the HBO series.…. True story.”

Isabela Merced called her Alien: Romulus scene disgusting

Before the release of RomulusMerced had warned moviegoers about her big scene. While she didn’t reveal any details about her role or what might happen in the scene, and there were no indications that it involved childbirth, Merced said the scene was so “disgusting” that even the cast and crew had trouble watching the footage.

“There’s a scene I’m in and everyone had to turn away. Not one person stopped and looked at the iPad because it was so gross,” she told THR.

Merced also spoke about how much she identifies with the character Dina, noting that she actually enjoys serving as a “light” for others and making people happy when that’s what they need. Merced explained that Dina is the same way, and that they would probably even handle the apocalypse in a similar way.

“(Dina is) kind of a light in Ellie’s life, in Ellie’s world. I think that’s the general consensus, because if you look at the video game as well, she’s really the only one who actually gets a somewhat decent ending,” Merced said, according to Total Film. “I love being that light for the people in my life more than anything. And I like to make them laugh, and I want to help them understand themselves better. I just like to help in general. I think Dina is very similar to my own personality. I think we’re both very silly, and I think I would maybe handle the apocalypse in a similar way if I were in it.”

Alien: Romulus is now in cinemas.

Source: Fede Alvarez via X