Listen, we won’t blame you for remaining skeptical. We’re not exactly sure whether to believe this news ourselves. But it really does seem as though, after years of false promises and roadblocks, The Crow is getting resurrected. And the reboot will star someone who knows something about wearing face paint to scare others. IT‘s Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård, will bring the vengeful character back to the big screen. After this long wait, The Crow has finally shared first-look images of Skarsgård in the romantically gothic role and an official trailer.
The Crow Reboot’s Release Date
It seemed like The Crow reboot finally had a release date. According to Deadline, it was set to release on June 7, 2024. But now, the publication reveals that The Crow will actually release on August 23.
The Crow Reveals Its Trailer and First-Look Images
We finally have our first good look at The Crow and its stars. And well, they certainly look good. Director Rupert Sanders shares with Vanity Fair, “I think the beauty of Bill [Skarsgård] is that he has a disturbing beauty, and as he transforms through his loss he becomes this thing that even he can’t control. It’s that famous line: ‘Whoever fights monsters must be careful that they don’t become one.’ That look was me in the ’90s when we were squat-raving in London, [mixed with some modern influences] like Post Malone and Lil Peep. I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, ‘That guy is us.’”
You can check out The Crow‘s trailer and images below:
Of the first-teased image of the crow, Vanity Fair notes, “That image captures the beginning of his transformation into the Crow.” And Sanders adds, “It’s the moment we realize bad things are coming.” An additional couple of first-look images from The Crow were also released.
The Crow Reboots Synopsis and More
So what do we know? Well, James O’Barr’s supernatural comic series is getting a long-awaited new adaptation. Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) will direct with a script from Zach Baylin (King Richard) and Will Schneider. Skarsgård will play the titular hero out for revenge, Erik Draven. Erik returns to the world of the living thanks to a crow, where he seeks vengeance against those who killed him and his fiancée.
Or at least he did originally. THR also reports the British singer and dancer FKA Twigs will play Erik’s fiancée. But, unlike previous iterations, the character will play a much bigger role and serve a co-lead in the film. What that means for her fate remains to be seen. But in a supernatural thriller where crows bring people back to life, the possibilities are endless.
Deadline shares the film’s synopsis, which is as follows:
Soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgård) 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.
Additionally, Vanity Fair notes, “While Eric’s and Shelly’s onscreen deaths occur in the opening minutes of the 1994 version of The Crow, Sanders says that he always wanted his version of the story to have a more even balance between light and dark. So we will see more of the smitten couple before tragedy steps in to tear them apart, making Eric’s quest for vengeance more emotionally resonant.”
More About the Original Movie
Fans first entered the dark and brooding world of The Crow more than 30 years ago. The indie comic debuted in 1989. However, many know it from its first ill-fated big screen adaptation. The original 1994 film starred Brandon Lee, the son of the legendary Bruce Lee. Brandon Lee sadly died on set from an improperly loaded prop gun. Lee had filmed most of his scenes when he died, though, and the studio still released the movie.
Sanders shares, “Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film. Brandon was an original voice and I think he will always be synonymous with The Crow and I hope he’s proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve brought the story back again. His soul is very much alive in this film. There’s a real fragility and beauty to his version of the Crow, and I think Bill feels like he is a successor to that.”
The original movie was a box office success and more sequels with different actors in the starring role followed. A short-lived TV series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, also had a one-season run in 1998. But since the last film, 2005’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer, the franchise has had a series of false starts while it mired in developmental hell.
The franchise seems to have truly left Hell behind now. So yes, this seems as though this The Crow reboot really is happening. And yet, like many of you, we’ll fully believe The Crow is back when we’re sitting in a movie theater once again watching Bill Skarsgård in face paint.
Originally published on April 4, 2022.