Fans have finally gotten their first look at Bill Skarsgård’s Eric Draven in the upcoming remake of The Crow – and in response, they’re ready to set a fire so godd–n big the gods will notice them again.
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Created by artist James O’Barr for the 1989 comic book of the same name, the story of The Crow revolves around Eric Draven, who one night after experiencing car trouble is brutally murdered, along with his fiancée Shelly, at the hands of a group of street thugs.
However, rather than fade away, Eric is soon thereafter resurrected and given supernatural powers by a crow, which he then proceeds to use on a brooding journey of vengeance against his and Shelly’s murderers.
Though the series only ran for a year under its original publishing company, Caliper Press, it has since been rebooted seven times by seven different publishers in the years since – none of which would have come to pass if it wasn’t for the popularity of Alex Proyas’ 1994 film adaptation.
As such, it should come as little surprise to learn that rumors of a potential The Crow remake have been flying around for almost as long as the original movie has existed.
Whispers towards such a project first began in the late 90s, though they remained as such until about 10 years ago when, in 2008, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen director Stephen Norrington announced his intent to ‘reinvent’ Draven’s story.
Ever since then, a potential The Crow remake has been a perennial source of online discussion, with its very concept sparking everything from fake teaser pictures to very passionate debates about whether or not the cult classic film should even ever be touched again by Hollywood.
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For those in the ‘leave it alone’ camp, their hesitation mostly stems from questions over the necessity of remaking a film that was done right the first time.
Further, many also believe that remaking The Crow would be doing a massive disservice to the original’s star, Brandon Lee, and the tragedy that befell him during production.
In one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of cinema history, with only a day left of shooting, the actor was fatally wounded by a poorly-inspected prop gun and died moments later.
It’s original distributor, Paramount, then dropped the incomplete film, but it was eventually picked up by Miramax, who in turn funded its rewrites, reshoots, and CGI needed to superimpose Brandon’s face over that of his body double Chad Stahelski (something which proved to be successful, aside from a few obvious scenes) in order to finish it.
Ultimately, The Crow was a well-received sleeper hit that went on to become a cult classic – namely among the Goth/Alternative scene – and though his performance as Draven is still capable of evoking a hauntingly beautiful sadness among those who’ve watched it, Lee’s death continues to cast an unfortunate shadow over the film’s legacy.
However, as evidenced by The Crow‘s three abysmal sequels, forgettable televisions series, and extremely bad video game on the PlayStation 1, Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy means nothing in the face of greed (which the industry has proven time and time again is, as Top Dollar said in the original film, not for amateurs).
And it is in light of this greed that, on February 28th, Vanity Fair unveiled the first official images from Lionsgate’s upcoming ‘reimagining’ of The Crow, namely star Bill Skarsgård’s (IT Chapters 1 & 2, Barbarian) version of series protagonist Eric Draven.
However, rather than applause, Skarsgård’s appearance instead inspired the wings of online vengeance to take flight and make clear their disdain for whatever it was they were looking at.
Like many, Twitter user @gothestgame drew a comparison between Skarsgård’s Draven and Jared Leto’s controversial take on The Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad (a portrayal which left nobody smiling).
To this end, the man behind that incarnation of The Clown Prince of Crime, David Ayer, responded to the reveal of Lionsgate’s new Draven with a simple ‘eyes open’ emoji.
“Come on man,” wrote @TreRighteous, “If you are the crow you have to have long hair,”
“This is just so wrong to me,” said @Gizara88. “The Crow’s design is heavily based on a lot of goth bands and rock singers James O’Barr was listening to such as Bauhaus, The Cure, and Iggy Pop. Ditching the 80s goth aesthetic for a Jared Leto Joker ripoff does a massive disservice to the character.”
Even the director of the original film, the aforementioned Proyas, felt the need to publicly voice his displeasure with Draven’s new design.
“Eric Draven’s having a bad hair day,” said Proyas. “Next reboot, thanks.”
And though she voiced her thoughts outside of social media, actress Rochelle Davis, who played Sarah in the 1994 film, not only told TMZ that she believed that the new incarnation of Draven looks more like the bad guys he’s supposed to be fighting than a hero, but also that anyone other than a straight white male would have been a better fit for replacing Brandon (though she did not explain her reasoning).
The Crow remake is currently set to spread its wings in US theaters on June 7th.
NEXT: Brandon Lee Wanted The Crow To Be Black And White Like The Graphic Novel