Brandon Lee Had A Wild Idea For The Crow That The Studio Shutdown
That would've been interesting.
The Crow is one of the cult classic movies that has truly stood the test of time. It was one of the first great comic book movies that wasn’t based on a huge hero like Batman or Superman. It featured adult themes, great performances, and an incredible soundtrack. The late Brandon Lee’s work in the lead role played a huge part in the movie’s beloved status, and it sounds like he and the director Alex Proyas had an idea that would have made the film even more interesting.
Both Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee have mentioned that they wanted to shoot The Crow in black and white, with the flashback scenes being in vivid color. The reason behind this is that they wanted to mirror the original James O’Barr-penned comic as closely as possible. Though the O’Barr comic didn’t draw any of the flashback scenes in color, the black and white would definitely make a fitting homage to the ink-colored comic book pages. It seems like the studio wasn’t behind the idea, so it never ended up coming to fruition.
Still, Proyas was able to turn The Crow into a moody, gothic masterpiece even with the studio stipulations. The color palette of the film was still very muted, and the color was ratcheted up for the flashback scenes. If you have yet to see this classic comic book film, you owe yourself the favor of checking it out. It starred Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, a musician who is resurrected to take vengeance on the people who killed him and his fiance. The film delves deep into themes of loss and grief and is anchored by Lee’s performance and Proyas’s expert direction.
Tragically, The Crow would cut the life and promising career of the young Brandon Lee short. An on-set incident with a prop gun led to his untimely and unexpected death, making The Crow the last film that Lee would ever work on. Brandon Lee would have undoubtedly gone on to become as big of a star as his father Bruce. Though The Crow was a cult classic, it became popular enough to inspire three sequels and a TV show. These would obviously not come close to touching the original.
As with many previously successful Hollywood properties, there is now a reboot of The Crow in the works. Production of the reboot is set to start this summer and it will star Bill Skarsgard in the role that Brandon Lee made famous. While casting the man who made us fear Pennywise again seems like a great choice, fans are hoping that the remake lives up to the lofty expectations set by the original. The next iteration is set to be directed by Rubert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsmans, Ghost in the Shell) and written by Zach Baylin (King Richard). While the team behind the reboot seems solid enough, it remains to be seen if this new version will end up respected and beloved like the original or if it will go the way of the forgettable sequel efforts.
