Today, The Crow reboot film starring Bill Skarsgård has been brought into the light, and fans have been given a first look at the character of Eric Dravenand the different direction the film is going in.
In 2022, the Crow reboot film production was resurrected (like the character). Notable film staff like director Rupert Sanders and writer Zach Baylin were announced. Producer duties were handed to Edward R. Pressman, with Malcolm Gray co-producing. Fans were given a lead in Bill Skarsgård (It, Hemlock Grove). On Wednesday, Vanity Fair graced the internet with an exclusive interview with Sanders on his vision for the upcoming film and how it deviates from the 1994 cult-classic original.
While the original film had a cloud of despair over it — considering lead actor Brandon Lee was shot and killed on the set of the 1994 original — Sanders is continuing the basis of the film off of the original graphic novel penned by James O’Barr but contends that it is an ‘entirely different take’ while considering the reboot a tribute to Lee’s memory.
Sanders explained, “Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film,” continuing with, “Brandon was an original voice, and I think he will always be synonymous with The Crow and I hope he’s proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve brought the story back again. His soul is very much alive in this film.”
The Crow, this time around, will explore the relationship between Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) before their brutal deaths, as penned in the graphic novel, to make their tragedy resonate with the audience more and make The Crow’s quest for vengeance that much more understandable. So, instead of the film’s opening minutes being a bloodbath of murder, fans will see a balance between light and dark, as opposed to the all-dark seen in the 1994 original.
Sanders also goes into why Skarsgård was chosen for the role, “I think the beauty of Bill is that he has a disturbing beauty, and as he transforms through his loss, he becomes this thing that even he can’t control. It’s that famous line: ‘Whoever fights monsters must be careful that they don’t become one.’ That look was me in the ’90s when we were squat-raving in London… I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, ‘That guy is us.’” Relatability is important for Sanders’ direction of The Crow.
While Sanders appears to deviate from the original, The Crow is set to take flight in theatres on June 7.
