The Crow, beloved cult classic action/horror film, is once again being brought back from the dead this summer. Though, this time, with a modernized look and feel for creator James O’Barr’s classic comic hero, The Crow/Eric Draven. The all-star primary cast is to be supported by FKA twigs and Danny Huston. Horror icon Bill Skarsgård is taking up the legendary leather trench coat of protagonist Eric Draven. Considering all of this sounds too good to be true, most fans are pretty sure it is too good to be true.
Three first look images of the film were release at the end of February leaving fans feeling a bit frustrated about the casting and design choices. Comic and film fans are usually fairly skeptical about remakes. Why would The Crow (2024) be any different? What people don’t seem to realize is that this is far from the first remake of or sequel to the original Crow film.
The Source Material and All Those Adaptations…
The first appearance of The Crow was in November of 1988. He is the title character of James O’Barr’s indie comic series The Crow. O’Barr’s goal for The Crow was to pen a comic series as a way of coping with the violent death of his own fiancée. Fittingly, The Crow is a series about how sweet revenge can be.
The Crow film from 1994 really picks up on October 30th, Devil’s Night. Devil’s Night is the phenomenon that often occurs the night before Halloween in Detroit, Michigan. Mischief, vandalism, arson and major crime run wild before the sun comes up Halloween morning. Goth musician Eric Draven (played by the late Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee) is brought back to life by the spirit of a creature called The Crow one year after the murders of him and his fiancée, Shelly. His mission, above all, is to avenge Shelly. Eric, with his newly found supernaturally heightened reflexes and invincibility, enters a bloody Devil’s Night rampage against the gang that took their lives. A bloody rampage soundtracked largely by Robert Smith and goth band The Cure, no less.
This film has, believe it or not, at least 5 subsequent sequels, spinoff series’ and remakes before counting the upcoming 2024 film. However, none are quite as beloved as the 1994 film. It is one of the highest rated action and horror films of all time. Both the film(s) and the comic series have an intense cult following. Tons of creatives like Heath Ledger and Gerard Way have been massively inspired by the story and characters. The story of The Crow is probably so popular for three major reasons: the reminders that even when times are tough, you aren’t alone; and the gothic, angsty subculture influence.
The third reason it is so popular is the curse.
The Crow Curse.
The 1994 film is one of the most cursed films of all time. Due to the tragedy tied to the creation of the comic and the mysterious death of Bruce Lee (Brandon Lee’s father), many think there is some kind of bad energy attached to the series. The production of the first film was a disaster. The production staff got alarming voicemails stating bad things would happen if the project made it to completion. The set was struck by a hurricane and destroyed.
The first day of filming saw a production electrician rushed to the hospital with severe burns. The electrician lost his ears in the fire. Then, the film’s star, Brandon Lee was tragically killed eight days before filming wrapped as a result of an accident with a blank round in a prop gun. There was still enough footage to meet the mark for release. Many of those involved chose to never watch the film.
The curse of The Crow seems to follow poor Eric Draven through every iteration of the franchise in some way. This has fans both worried and curious about the 2024 remake. With little production news we have, the production images are the only way into the project so far.
Of course, now we have to jump into what we know about The Crow (2024).
First Look Photos and Production News.
A Crow reboot project has been on the books for about fifteen years. Audiences finally get to see it on the big screen on June 7th, 2024. The project has undergone tons of changes over the years. In 2018, Aquaman star, Jason Momoa was first slated to play Eric Draven. Now, Eric Draven is returning to the screen for the first time in twenty years in the capable hands of It actor Bill Skarsgård. Many fear the production team is potentially less capable.
While it is good to stray from tradition to keep something exciting, Skarsgård’s Eric Draven departs from the world of tradgoth rocker to go full poser Machine Gun Kelly. Eric Draven has leaned way too far into Gen-Z culture stereotypes for actual Gen-Zers to do anything but laugh. Fans are finding the hair and makeup design reminiscent of a certain less-than-loved Suicide Squad character:
Some have likened the upcoming film to infamous disaster of the Glasgow immersive Willy Wonka experience:
There has been less negativity about FKA twigs as Shelly. FKA twigs is massively popular and likely to succeed in almost anything she is cast in. Shelly’s character design is also less iconic and specific than The Crow himself. She looks pretty great alongside the mid-looking three-years too late edgelord Skarsgård version of Eric Draven.
The Joy of Remakes.
The plot of the film is still mostly under wraps, but I am sure it is safe to assume it will follow the narrative of the original storyline as discussed earlier in this article. The film’s director is Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell, Snow White and the Huntsman) who is no stranger to directing remakes and reboots of all kinds and different levels of success. No harsher judgements can be made until the trailer or teasers roll out any day now.
Regardless of the film’s quality, audiences will no doubt go out in droves to see The Crow when it opens this June. That is the beauty of reboots – guaranteed success. Fans will either love it, or love to hate it when The Crow hits theaters June 7th. Even if this new iteration of Eric Draven has a mullet and face tattoos…
