"It can't rain all the time." A line famously spoken by Brandon Lee's character Eric Draven in the 1994 cult classic The Crow that found itself mired in the behind-the-scenes tragic death of Lee on-set and found itself a sleeper hit, grossing $94 million on a $23 million budget. Over the years, the film has only gotten more popular, especially as it was followed by three sequels that had almost nothing to do with the original's characters and story and a modest TV series that lasted one season. Course, the original was based on the 1989 limited comic book series of the same name by James O'Barr whereas the sequels and show attempted to be original works but could never keep with the macabre tone and Lee's eccentric and wild performance as the lead character. (along with Michael Wincott's performance as the lead villain of the story)
Now, after decades of attempting it, a reboot film is officially in production. Many actors came and went in pursuit of taking on the extreme pressure of succeeding Lee's performance. In fact, pretty much every actor in Hollywood took a stab at it at some point including Bradley Cooper, Tom Hiddleston, and Jason Momoa. Nothing ever stuck. In fact, the original film's director Alex Proyas even said in a 2019 interview on a podcast of who has tried to prevent it from happening:
I personally tried to squash it every time I hear of one, not that I believe I've been able to. I think extenuating circumstances have stopped it from being made because if Hollywood wants to make something that they don't listen to schmucks like me who bring noble and moralistic issues. My point is that Brandon Lee made that movie what it is. He made that movie, he made that character. That character was not taken from a comic book, that was Brandon. And Brandon Lee died making that movie, he paid the worst price anyone could ever pay making a movie and it's his legacy. The guy would have been a huge star after that movie. He wasn't able to ever do that. That's his final testimony to his talent and that's why I finished the movie. I finished it for Brandon. After being devastated about what happened we shut down the production and I went back to Australia. Months later I went back and watched the movie and his family all the other actors, and everyone involved, said 'You've got to finish this movie because Brandon is so great in it' and he was. I was able to watch it and see how great he was and I thought then the movie deserves to be completed because it's his legacy. So that's what the movie is, it's not just a movie that can be remade. It's one man's legacy. And it should be treated with that level of respect.
Sadly, Hollywood's respect for legacy is only as good as the lack of box office an IP might bring in. So, finally, director Rupert Sanders (known for his mediocre takes on popular animated works such as 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman and 2017's Ghost in the Shell) has moved forward into production on the reboot with Bill Skarsgård (IT, John Wick: Chapter 4) set to take on the titular role. The film will keep with the basic story from the original, focusing on Draven who is resurrected to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancée Shelly Webster, played by Sofia Shinas in the original and now will be played by FKA Twigs. And today, in First Look photos released in an article about the film, we get a look at Skarsgård and Twigs, with Skarsgård being on display both before and after he becomes the Crow:
In that same article, Sanders remarked on his decision to direct the film:
“What drew me to this was the opportunity to make a dark romance, something that dealt with loss, grief, and the ethereal veil between life and death and reaching through that. Look, I grew up listening to Joy Division and the Cure, and this movie is a bit like a Cure song—the beauty of melancholy.”
With a script co-written by Zach Baylin (who was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for King Richard a couple years ago), it will be interesting to see what, if any, original perspective this adaptation could be in after being in development hell since 2008. We'll find out sooner than expected as the film is taking the summer slot of June 7th this year, switching out for the 2025 release date that the film's distributor Lionsgate had for it when it chose to push back the release of its John Wick spin-off film. Stay tuned!