The Crow Remake Doesn't Sit Right With The Original Director
After years (and years, and years) of being stuck in development hell, "The Crow" remake is finally coming to theaters this summer. It stars Bill Skarsgard ("It") as Eric Draven, the role made famous by the late Brandon Lee in director Alex Proyas' 1994 comic book film of the same name. The reaction to the recently released trailer and images has been mixed, to put it mildly. Now, Proyas himself has weighed in, and the forthcoming remake does not sit well with him.
Proyas took to Facebook recently to share some of his thoughts on this new version of "The Crow," which was directed by Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman"). Proyas, for his part, didn't have anything nice to say, as he even linked to an article from Comic Book Resources titled "The Crow Remake Trailer Gets Staggering Amount of Dislikes on YouTube." While Proyas prefaced his commentary by saying that he does not enjoy sharing negativity regarding the work of other filmmakers, he proceeded to make his stance quite clear:
"I really don't get any joy from seeing negativity about any fellow filmmakers work. And I'm certain the cast and crew really had all good intentions, as we all do on any film. So it pains me to say any more on this topic, but I think the fan's response speaks volumes. ['The Crow'] is not just a movie. Brandon Lee died making it, and it was finished as a testament to his lost brilliance and tragic loss. It is his legacy. That's how it should remain."
Lee died at the very end of production on 1994's "The Crow" after being fatally shot by a prop gun. Lee was just 28 when he passed. The death obviously cast a shadow over the film, but it went on to become a major success both critically and commercially following the actor's passing.
A messy situation with The Crow
Proyas is certainly entitled to an opinion on the matter, and what happened to Lee is an unquestionable tragedy. That being said, it's not as though this is the first time another actor has headed up this franchise — far from it, in fact. Because "The Crow" was a hit, sequels soon followed. 1996's "The Crow: City of Angels" starred Vincent Pérez as Ashe Corven, who takes up the mantle of the Crow. 2000's "The Crow: Salvation" passed the torch to Eric Mabius' Alex Frederick Corvis, and 2005's "The Crow: Wicked Prayer" brought in Edward Furlong as Jimmy Cuervo.
There was also a short-lived TV show titled "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" that featured Mark Dacascos as Eric Draven, so this isn't even the first time that a new actor has played the same role that was made famous by Lee. So Proyas publicly protesting Lionsgate's upcoming reboot of the franchise should come with an asterisk. The synopsis for the new film reads as follows:
Soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgard) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
Zach Baylin ("Gran Turismo") and William Schneider penned the screenplay. The cast also includes Danny Huston ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), Isabella Wei ("1899"), Laura Birn ("Foundation"), Sami Bouajila ("Ganglands"), and Jordan Bolger ("The Woman King").
"The Crow" remake is set to hit theaters on June 7, 2024.