The Crow Reboot Casts Brandon Lee’s Replacement
It looks like a reboot of the goth cult classic film The Crow might actually be happening, and the lead role has officially been cast.
We advise caution on this, because we’ve been burned many times before, but it looks like The Crow reboot might actually be happening. Actor Bill Skarsgard has been officially cast as Eric Draven in an upcoming remake of the cult classic 1994 film The Crow. Rupert Sanders is slated to direct the film; he is best known for the Scarlett Johansson-starring Ghost in the Shell and the Kristen Stewart film Snow White and the Huntsman. The script is being written by Zach Baylin, who wrote the recent Academy Award-winning King Richard and the upcoming Creed III starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan. Reportedly, this new version of The Crow is in pre-production and expected to begin filming in June of this year.
If we are a bit hesitant about this, it is only because The Crow has become one of the legendary development hell stories of Hollywood. Loosely based on a comic book series by James O’Barr, The Crow film was directed by Alex Proyas and starred Brandon Lee. Tragically, Lee was killed during filming when a scene in which the character of Eric Draven is shot went awry. The film was completed via body doubles, digital effects, and last-minute changes to the story. The Crow went on to be a surprise hit for the year and well-received by critics; it has been praised for its dark, gothic tone and dream-like atmosphere. The film was followed by a series of sequels, The Crow: City of Angels, The Crow: Salvation, and The Crow: Wicked Prayer, all based on original stories. At one point, Rob Zombie was reported to be developing a reboot, which did not come to fruition. There was even a Canadian television series called The Crow: Stairway to Heaven that lasted for 22 episodes in the late 1990s.
This new Bill Skarsgard reboot of The Crow appears to be the most viable revival of the property in some time. In 2016, a version of the story starring Jason Momoa and backed by Sony Pictures got at least as far as makeup tests and thrilled nerdy goths everywhere, but swiftly fell apart. Given that this new movie seems pretty close to actually starting filming, we can at least presume it will eventually get made, though then, of course, there will be the question of whether it can match up to the expectations of a fanbase that has been disappointed many, many times.
Bill Skarsgard is best known to audiences for portraying Pennywise the Clown in the Andy Muschietti-directed two-part adaptation of Stephen King’s It. It would seem that Skarsgard just can’t stay away from roles that require heavy applications of white pancake makeup, but he also recently voice acted in the MCU film Eternals (as a villain named Kro, serendipitously) and as a mutant named Zeitgeist in Deadpool 2 (for a few minutes, anyway). By all reports, it does look like this new version of The Crow will be released in theaters in probably the next few years, but we’ll keep updating you as we find out the news.
