This weekend, a controversial new adaptation of The Crow hits theaters. Directed by Rupert Sanders, The Crow stars Bill Skarsgård as the titular superhero, a.k.a. Eric Draven, FKA Twigs as his doomed lover, Shelly, and Danny Huston is the crime boss Vincent Roeg. Based on James O’Barr’s graphic novels, the 2024 version is not intended to be a direct remake of the iconic 1994 version starring the late Brandon Lee, but its own retelling of O’Barr’s work.
The movie has been met with plenty of controversy, largely from fans of the original who feel any attempt to redo The Crow is an insult to Lee’s memory, and that group includes original Crow director Alex Proyas, who has made it clear over the years how he feels about the prospect of the original movie being remade. Still, again, this isn’t a direct remake, but a new adaptation of preexisting source material, just like how there have been multiple retellings of the story of, say, The Little Mermaid even if the animated Disney version is the definitive one for most.
Skarsgård’s look in the trailer has also drawn some criticisms, from the greasy mullet to the tattoos, with plenty of upset fans online drawing unflattering comparisons to Jared Leto’s Joker, a dark time in DC’s filmography that few people want to revisit. Still, there’s reason to hope that The Crow 2024 will be a great standalone story in its own right, if one can set aside preconceived notions about what they think it is or what it’s supposed to be.
It’s NOT A Remake Of The 1994 Version (But Will Honor It)
Though it’s already mentioned above, it should be made explicitly clear: The Crow 2024 is not a remake of the 1994 version starring Brandon Lee, whose tragic death during the making of the original movie has become the stuff of infamous Hollywood legend. This movie is its own thing. That alone should put fears to rest. Director Rupert Sanders did not want to attempt to remake the cult classic movie, and Bill Skarsgård has said he has no desire to even try to fill Brandon Lee’s shoes. So the decision was made that it would be a completely different movie. Still, Sanders hopes that it can be seen as a spiritual tribute to the late Bandon Lee, as he said in an interview with Vanity Fair earlier this year:
“Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film. 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. There’s a real fragility and beauty to his version of the Crow, and I think Bill feels like he is a successor to that.”
Sanders Banned Real Guns From The Crow Set Because Of Lee & The Rust Shooting
In another sign of respect to Lee and his legacy, it was recently reported that real guns were banned on the set of the new Crow movie. This was especially wise in the wake of the tragic shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Rust, when it was revealed live rounds were accidentally put into a prop gun. That accident saw the death of Halyna Hutchins, a horrific oversight that still has the litigants tied up in court. As such, Sanders decided to ban real guns from the set.
“Safety is a number one priority. Film sets are very dangerous. There are fast moving cars with cranes stuck on the top. There are stunt guys falling on high wires down steps. Even just walking around a set at night with rain machines and lights — you’re working in an industrial environment. So it’s dangerous. You have to be safe. The first day I met with the special effects department and the armorer, who was great, in Prague. They were very safety-conscious. They follow all the same guidelines as the military when dealing with weapons, but I didn’t even want to risk that.
“So I said, categorically, ‘We will have no firing weapons on set,’ which means we didn’t have one gun that could have had a live round or a blank round anywhere near it ever, so that no projectile could go in. They’re all Airsoft guns, and some of them are just rubber or metal decoys that are functional but have no firing mechanism.”
There’s A Lot More Of Eric & Shelly
In the 1994 version of The Crow, the relationship between Eric and Shelly was little explored, with any flashbacks being brief sketches. Instead, it was left up to the audience to interpret Eric Draven’s deep and abiding grief as a symbol of how much he’d loved Shelly. The way Lee portrayed Eric’s love and grief was beautiful, but it would have been nice to actually see some of their relationship.
The new Crow movie is fixing that, with far more scenes between Shelly and Eric being incorporated into the story, making their relationship feel more fully realized and fleshed out. With Shelly not getting much time in the original movie, it frees FKA Twigs up to create an image of Shelly that she wants, but the love she holds for Eric is still evident in the trailer. It appears that she and Skarsgård have great chemistry, which is something the original 1994 movie never really had to worry about. Considering The Crow is, first and foremost, a tragic love story, that’s a really good sign.
