The Crow, released in 1994 starring Brandon Lee, was a quick hit, spawning various copies, Halloween costumes, and lore. After lead actor Lee was tragically killed on the film’s set in 1993 by a prop gun that should not have been loaded, various stories and theories have torn through distraught audiences due to the senseless and sudden nature of his death and the similarity to his father’s, game-changing and renowned actor and martial artist Bruce Lee. Brandon Lee was also trained in the martial arts and philosophy promoted by his legendary father and brought passion, fierceness, and iconicism to The Crow.
Based on the comic books by James O’Barr, the movie is about the ghost of a musician, brought back from the dead one year after his death to avenge the brutal murders of himself and his fiancé, which took place the night before they were to be married. Due to the tragedy that took place on set and the haunting, awe-inspiring finished product, The Crow quickly took its place as a fan favorite and a pivotal action movie in the already violence-saturated ’90s.
After many decades and many attempts to reboot this storied franchise, it seems that the ball is now rolling on the upcoming new version of the Eric Draven story. Here is everything we know about the upcoming reboot.
The CrowReboot: The Plot
The reboot will presumably follow a similar narrative trajectory as the 1994 version, will the added change of a more present female supporting character. It has the opportunity to go even more hard-core Goth than the first one, however, as we have since been through the season of the raging Emo in our recent popular culture, as well as some even more depressing and relevant times. The Crow figure has lived as a symbol of mythic and horrific death since the days of Edgar Allen Poe, and this reboot has the opportunity to build off so much existing lore even beyond the original movie version.
It will be difficult, it is certain, to produce a project so reminiscent of the film that cost the life of its star, Brandon Lee, especially after the so recent death of cinematographer Helena Hutchins on the set of Rust under nearly identical circumstances. The original Crow movie was dropped by Paramount Pictures, who wanted nothing further to do with the film after the accident, and taken up by Miramax, who saw it through, all the way to the theaters. Ever since that time, there has been a backlash by fans and Brandon Lee supporters whenever producers or companies try to take up the mantle of a Crow reboot.
This is where the reboot has the opportunity to do some healing work. It can pay homage to the 1994 version, Brandon Lee himself, the original comics, and the much older and gothic lore of the crow as a symbol of imminent death and oblivion. It can also publicize the safety precautions that will be taken on set to positive effect. The time will soon come when we will see exactly how this new team handles the project.
The CrowReboot: The Cast & Crew
The team behind this revamp includes the director Rupert Sanders of the gritty action hits Snow White and the Huntsman and Ghost in the Shell, with Victor Hadida, Molly Hassell, John Jencks, and Edward R. Pressman producing, and Dan Farah of The Phenomenon and Ready, Player One executive producing. Reprising Brandon Lee’s role, Bill Skarsgard, best known for playing Pennywise in the hit Steven King adaptations It and It Chapter 2, will be playing the Crow himself.
There are few actors currently working better to take on this surreal, otherworld role, so we can fully expect that Skarsgard will bring his signature, flawless horror, and heart to the character. Meanwhile, English recording artist and international star FKA Twigs will be playing the Crow’s girlfriend and have a much larger role in this reboot than the respective character in the 1994 version.
In the 1994 film, the character Shelley had little arc other than being the tragic victim of a hideous murder and the object of the Crow’s affection. Bringing a woman’s perspective and active involvement more closely into the reboot film will surely improve and add some elements we might not have seen previously, even in any source material.
Jason Momoa was originally attached to the Crow Reboot
Surprisingly enough, The Crow was nearly rebooted with Jason Momoa portraying Eric Draven. While that might have seemed like a crazy idea, the film had gone all the way into the makeup tests, and honestly, Momoa looked fantastic as Draven. The last time that we heard about this news was in 2016, and things were seemingly going well for the reboot.
The director of The Nun, Corin Hardy, was said to be leading this picture. It was meant to add more of a horror-like element and be even closer to the comic source material than the films before it. However, there didn’t seem to be much progress after these makeup tests had been done.
Much like its predecessor, this new reboot called The Crow Reborn had a myriad of issues from the beginning of its creation. Financing issues, script problems, rights issues, and finally the director and Momoa exited the picture due to the snowball affect the movie’s issues caused. Though this was a tragedy, test footage appeared online last year. You can see Momoa in the full makeup below:
While Jason Momoa is certainly a massive man, and Brandon Lee was a lot thinner, this test footage works. He looks great, and really, isn’t it all about the makeup? The Crow Reborn was sadly shelved and no one was able to get anything going since then.
The Crow Reboot: Release Date
The reboot was announced at Cannes 2022 and The Crow began filming in Prague in July 2022. Locations include certain parts of Europe. We look forward to hearing new announcements from the production as we go and hope to see a definitive retelling of this haunting story sometime in 2023!
