The long-gestating reimagining ofThe Crowis finally slated to debut this August, withBill Skarsgårdslipping on Eric’s black leather coat. Some would consider the timing fortunate, especially with the originalCrowcelebrating its 30th anniversary. Others feel that the entire project is a mistake, citing thatthe first official trailer forThe Crowfelt at odds with the original’s tone. No matter what side you might fall on, it’s a miracle that there’s a new version ofThe Crow.It took roughly 16 years to assemble a cast and crew for the film,from the reimagining’s announcement in 2008 to the present day. Many actors and directors boarded and departedThe Crowover the years, combined with some seismic shifts in studio ownership. That’s a recipe for a long, rocky road to the silver screen.
The ‘Crow’ Reimagining Was Almost Helmed by the Directors of ‘Blade’ and ‘Damsel’
The first director to approachThe CrowwasStephen Norrington. Norrington’s no stranger to comic book adaptations: he directed the firstBlademovie, which is regarded as one of the comic book movies that ignited a comeback for the superhero movie. He also helmedLeague of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is notorious for serving as the end ofSean Connery’s acting career.Norrington also had a specific vision for the film,which he toldVarietyaboutwhen he was first tapped to direct: “WhereasAlex Proyas' original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style.” Shortly afterward,Mark Wahlbergwas announcedto be in the running to play Draven. It wouldn’t be the first time that Wahlberg has been linked to a reboot of a popular franchise; he was also attached to a version ofThe Six Million Dollar Manthat’sstill languishing in the dreaded “development hell.”
‘The Crow’s Production Designer Reflects on Its Enduring Legacy 30 Years Later
While Alex McDowell, the production designer for 1994’s ‘The Crow,’ is interested in seeing the upcoming remake, he also feels it’s not necessary.
Norrington eventually departedThe Crow,which led Juan Carlos Fresnadilloto board in 2011.Bradley Cooperwas now in the running to play Draven but eventually had todrop out due to a scheduling conflict. In the meantime, another group of actors —James McAvoy, Channing TatumandRyan Gosling—were all rumored for the lead role. But none of them ever slipped on that leather trench coat due to Relativity being sued byHarvey Weinstein. Weinstein hadlaunched a lawsuit against Relativity Mediadue to the distribution rights overThe Crow.According to Weinstein’s lawyerBert Fields, Relativity headRyan Kavanaughrefused to honor the deal struck with Weinstein. “Mr. Kavanaugh was not going to honor that contract. Apparently, he’s going to sell these rights to others. He made a bunch of threats…Some people may submit to that kind of arrogant conduct, but we’re not going to do it," Fields said when the lawsuit was first announced.
‘The Crow’ Reboot Switched Studios and Even Involved the Comic’s Creator
Relativity and Weinstein eventually settled out of court, but Fresnadillo ended up departingThe Crow.F. Javier Gutierrezboarded the production soon after, and even scored a new lead actor for the role of Draven:Luke Evans.Rumors also swirled thatAlexander SkarsgårdandTom Hiddlestonwould star in the film. In a bit of an ironic twist, Skarsgård’s brother Bill would eventually wind up getting the part. The writer ofThe Crowcomics,James O’Barr,eventuallyboarded Gutierrez’s film as a creative consultant. O’Barr said that he changed his mind after a conversation with Gutierrez,who wanted to adapt the original comic more closely. “That got me intrigued – the idea of adapting it from page 1 and going from there, including a lot of the darker or stranger elements of the comic dropped from the original film,“O’Barr said. Sadly, Gutierrez wound up departing the film in 2017 — which is a shame, as leaning more intothe darker elements of the comicswould makeThe Crowreimagining stand out from its predecessor. Gutierrez would later release concept art featuring Hiddleston and Evans sporting Draven’s iconic makeup, courtesy of makeup artistBill Corso(Deadpool,Species). “We tried to make it as faithful to the graphic novel as possible. Grounded, and with attention to detail (I wanted to show the scar). Bill is brilliant, and did an amazing job,”Gutierrez toldBloody Disgusting.
Jason Momoa Almost Starred in ‘The Crow’
Relativity made one final attempt to adaptThe Crow,tapping Corin Hardy to direct. This decision came after Relativity filed for bankruptcy, which put a hamper on production (again). Hardy was also joined byJason Momoa, with production aiming to take place in 2017.ButHardy and Momoa departed the projectshortly after rights toThe Crowshifted hands to Davis Film. Hardy later went into detail about the factors that led him to leaveThe Crow,citing issueswith Davis Film’s headSamuel Hadida.In an Instagram post, Hardy went into full detail about the passion he had forThe Crow. “I poured everything I had into the last 3.5 years of work, to try & create something which honoured what the Crow stood for; from James O’Barr’s affecting graphic novel, to Alex Proyas’s original movie, with great respect to Brandon Lee and with the desire to make something bold and new, that myself, as an obsessive fan, could be proud of.” he wrote. “But sometimes, when you love something so much, you have to make hard decisions. And yesterday, deciding it was time to let go of this dark & emotional dream project, was the hardest decision of all. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.”
No matter what stage it went through,The Crowreimaginingholds the eternal scorn of Alex Proyas, who directed the originalCrowadaptation.Proyaslambasted the idea of a new film in 2019, citingthe performance of the lateBrandon Leeas a major part of his ire. “I personally tried to squash it every time I hear of one, not that I believe I’ve been able to…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.”
Rupert Sanders and Bill Skarsgard Have Differing Opinions on the Ending of ‘The Crow’
The Crowfinally found its leading man and director in Bill Skarsgård andRupert Sanders, and for the most part, production went fairly smoothly - especially as Sandershad banned live ammunitionfollowing the tragic fallout of the originalCrowandRust. But Skarsgård apparently would have preferred a different ending, as he revealed in an interview withEsquire. “I personally preferred something more definitive,” he said, while not elaborating on how the film ends.
Sanders had a different story: he insisted in aHollywood Reporterinterview that despite what was floating around the Internet, his version ofThe Crowisa stand-alone story:
“We live in a world where people get a snippet of something and it’s magnified through a million clacking laptops, but no one really knows anything about substantiating what they are actually putting out there. The movie, I think, stands alone. I personally hate movies where you have to see the sequel. A movie should finish in a way that feels satisfactory to the story, and this movie does.”
Opinions onThe Crowmight vary, but reviews india. Perhaps Skarsgard felt that the ending could have truly been more definitive or Sanders had to trim down the final film, but in a landscape where studios are chasing the next big franchise, The Crow remains a standalone story. It might be the only story about this version ofThe Crow,judging from the box office receipts.
Rupert Sanders’s Take on ‘The Crow’ Focuses More on the Romance
To separate his version ofThe Crowfrom previous films, Sanders chose to focus on the romance between Eric Draven and his lover Shelly (FKA twigs). Eric meets Shelley in a mental institution, and they slowly fall in love - until the crime lord Vincent Roeg (Danny Houston) has them both killed. Eric wakes up in limbo, where he’s told that in order to save Shelley’s soul, he must kill Roeg.As long as he still feels the same love that he did for Shelley, he won’t be able to die;The Crowtakes this to some disturbing extremes as Eric wreaks unholy vengeance upon Roeg’s men while suffering some gruesome injuries.
This is more in line with O’Barr’s original graphic novel; both the novel and Sanders' film have Eric using a samurai sword to dispatch his foes. But true to his word, Sanderskeeps Eric and Shelly’s romance front and center, employing flashbacks to reveal more about their time together and why Roeg was hunting Shelley in the first place. “The gore is in service of a love story. It’s not just nihilistic, splatter gore just for the sake of it. Every scene of action and violence is a scene of emotional empathy with the lead actor,” Sanders said whiledepicting his approach to the material. Like Eric Draven,The Crowhas been through hell and back trying to make it to the big screen.
The Crowis now playing in theaters nationwide. Click below for showtimes.
A modern re-imagining of the beloved character, The Crow, based on the original graphic novel by James O’Barr.
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