THE CROW First Look Reveals A Very Different Approach To Eric Draven As Bill Skarsgård Takes Over Role

THE CROW First Look Reveals A Very Different Approach To Eric Draven As Bill Skarsgård Takes Over Role

A first look at filmmaker Rupert Sanders' reboot of The Crow has been released ahead of its theatrical release this June, and fans of the 1994 classic might have something to say about this Eric Draven...

By JoshWilding - Feb 28, 2024 12:02 PM EST
Filed Under: The Crow
Source: Fear HQ

Just as it was beginning to feel like The Crow might never see the light of day, Vanity Fair (via FearHQ.com) has shared a first look at Rupert Sanders' (Ghost in the Shell) reboot starring John Wick: Chapter 4's Bill Skarsgård. 

The actor inherits the iconic role of Eric Draven, with FKA Twigs joining him as Shelly. Both are murdered when her past catches up to her, leaving Eric - caught between life and death - to avenge their respective demise at the hands of Danny Huston's demonic villain. 

"What drew me to this was the opportunity to make a dark romance, something that dealt with loss, grief, and the ethereal veil between life and death and reaching through that," the filmmaker explains. "Look, I grew up listening to Joy Division and the Cure, and this movie is a bit like a Cure song - the beauty of melancholy."

We recently learned that The Crow is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 7 and has big shoes to fill seeing as it follows the cult classic starring the late Brandon Lee. 

The original became infamous after the son of Bruce Lee was shot and killed in a firearms stunt gone wrong; he was on the cusp of becoming a huge action star in Hollywood and this new take has clearly pulled inspiration from the 1994 movie along with James O'Barr's graphic novel. 

"Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film," Sanders says of Skarsgård's predecessor. "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."

Based on the image shared in the X post below (more can be seen by visiting Vanity Fair's website), this Eric will be a lot more grounded in reality and will sport facial tattoos in place of that striking white face paint. As you might expect, the response to this change on social media has been decidedly mixed. 

"I think the beauty of Bill 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.'"

What do you think about this first look at The Crow? Let us know in the comments section.

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.

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DarthAlgar
DarthAlgar - 2/28/2024, 12:36 PM
incredibleTalk
incredibleTalk - 2/28/2024, 4:05 PM
@DarthAlgar - .....ugh his nipple keeps looking at me...

Kiba
Kiba - 2/28/2024, 11:16 PM
@DarthAlgar - Very well put sir. My thoughts exactly.
Kiba
Kiba - 2/28/2024, 11:17 PM
@incredibleTalk - Oh god I just noticed that.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 12:36 PM
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 2/28/2024, 12:37 PM
Madman
Madman - 2/28/2024, 12:38 PM
Visually, this is the same leap from Ledger to Leto
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 2/28/2024, 12:39 PM
@Madman - hopefully it doesn’t turn out the same performance wise and film wise.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2024, 12:58 PM
@Madman - Both Ledger and Lee died at 28 too.

(rock stars die at 27, movie stars die at 28)
RolandD
RolandD - 2/28/2024, 2:10 PM
@Madman - And we all know how that turned out
dragon316
dragon316 - 2/28/2024, 7:35 PM
@ObserverIO - one died of suicide other people accident on movie set
rychlec
rychlec - 2/28/2024, 12:38 PM
Love Brandon Lee's Crow. Hope this at least comes close.
Spoken
Spoken - 2/28/2024, 12:38 PM
Eh.....I think I need a trailer lol.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 2/28/2024, 12:39 PM

His nipple is an eye lmao!! Jared Leto Joker vibes. Crow design is so simple, how do you [frick] this up…
Highflyer
Highflyer - 2/28/2024, 12:39 PM
I hate it. It's basically a goth version of Leto's Joker. Granted, if this film resonates with me emotionally, I'll overlook the design.
RolandD
RolandD - 2/28/2024, 2:15 PM
@Highflyer - That’s reasonable. I would not have done this to the character, but when I first saw Heath Ledger’s Joker design before I saw the movie, I was like no, no, no. I don’t like this. Then I saw the movie the rest of history. That said, when I saw Jared Leto’s design it was an absolute no from me and I was right.
Alucard28
Alucard28 - 2/28/2024, 12:44 PM
Looks shit. That tit "eye" tattoo looks so cringe.

Also, long hair is more badass.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 2/28/2024, 12:47 PM
I'll stick with the OG and Wicked prayer thanks
Blergh
Blergh - 2/28/2024, 12:49 PM
@HashTagSwagg - no kidding, I liked "Salvation" and "Wicked Prayer" a fair bit more than "City of Angels".
The third one had a neat spin on the themes of the death sentence and was a really topical movie for the times it was made in and the fourth one was indeed corny and mid-budget but holy hell was it fun watching David Boreanaz ham it up as Satan.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 2/28/2024, 12:50 PM
@Blergh - He was Angelus on steroids
Blergh
Blergh - 2/28/2024, 12:52 PM
@HashTagSwagg - Boreanaz is pretty good at playing evil characters, hope he gets the chance at more villain roles. Angelus was an amazing antagonist in Buffy S2 and absolutely made that shitty fourth season of Angel worth a watch.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 1:01 PM
@HashTagSwagg - LOL! For that clip alone, kind sir...



Blergh
Blergh - 2/28/2024, 12:47 PM
I hate that they're rebooting this, couldn't they just have gone with a new Crow?
Just copy the original plot with new characters if you really think the plot of the OG is so "perfect" (it's a basic revenge tale, not hard to spin into something new).

Really wish they didn't touch the Draven storyline again, the universe of the Crow is big enough for different tales.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 2/28/2024, 12:47 PM
Looks like another Shite Crow project, hopefully it proves me wrong.
Blergh
Blergh - 2/28/2024, 12:50 PM
@ModHaterSLADE - they released a solid BluRay of "Salvation" a few years ago, pretty good get if you're a fan
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 2/28/2024, 12:52 PM
@Blergh - Good looking out
bobevanz
bobevanz - 2/28/2024, 1:12 PM
@Blergh - the 4k remaster comes around summer time this year
Blergh
Blergh - 2/28/2024, 12:54 PM
@Nomis929 - just should have called Bill's character "Ollie", give Top Dollar a new business (maybe human trafficking) and they could have had a new movie on their hands. Add a Bring Me the Horizon soundtrack and young goths would eat it up.
Instead they trash on the Draven legacy (nothing to loose if it's another character)
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2024, 12:52 PM
"I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, 'That guy is us.'"

Maybe people who were 19 a decade ago.

I remember when the millennium hit and everybody thought tattoos and body modification was the wave of the future (despite tattooes being a thing since forever) and then a whole generation just went completely overboard, addictively filling every space on their cosmetically and surgically altered bodies.

And then... they just stopped. The new kids all want small discreet tattoos if any at all.

So a whole generation now has to walk around looking like complete tit-heads, because they fell for a fad.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 2/28/2024, 1:05 PM
@ObserverIO - haha, this
Slotherin
Slotherin - 2/28/2024, 1:06 PM
@ObserverIO - i love your observations
StSteven
StSteven - 2/28/2024, 5:03 PM
@ObserverIO - Yeah, I kinda had a similar reaction. Like, I'm in my 40s and my kids are all still single digits, so I'll admit that I don't know exactly what 19 year olds are like today, but I try to stay pretty on top of popular trends, whether it be music, tech, etc,. (probably because I'm in perpetual denial of my actual age and would like to live the rest of my life in my early 20s 😉). And as far as I know right now, most 19 year olds are not a mash-up of Post Malone and Neo from "The Matrix" (no disrespect to Post). And in the occasional times that I teach undergrad classes I really don't recall seeing anyone who looks like the above version of Eric. But hey, maybe I'm just not as "with it" as I think I am.

Overall, this whole thing reminds me of this Denis Leary rant. Hopefully you'll enjoy it: Cheers!
Deadinside
Deadinside - 2/29/2024, 9:43 AM
@ObserverIO - I have my fair share of tattoos that I got in a span from the early 90's through 2016.
They are all of the same general theme...Batman!
I have 14 of them & have no regrets.☮👍😁
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/29/2024, 10:07 AM
@Deadinside - I have a tattoo that says no regrets but they mis-spelled it, lol. No but seriously, Batman tats are cool. You probably don't look like you've run out of paper for your grocery list and have had to start using your body like "Eric Draven" up there looks. You probably look pretty awesome tbf.
Deadinside
Deadinside - 2/29/2024, 1:12 PM
@ObserverIO - They are all spaced, single tats. No full sleeves, or anything like that!
No regerts!😉☮
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 12:53 PM
They were already fighting an UPHILL battle be remaking a movie that is still pretty much LOVED by Everyone, including NON comic book fans, that had one of the most promising stars who tragically died making it, and they go and give such an outlandish look for main charcater.

I understand putting your own "Stamp" on your verion of the charcter, but this just screams overcompensating.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2024, 12:56 PM
@Nomis929 - The smart move would have been to simply not call him Eric Draven and then make something from the heart, not what you think today's 19 year olds want to see.
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 2/28/2024, 1:04 PM
@ObserverIO - See... you made COMMON SENSE with that suggestion, Something PRoducers in Hollywood don't care for.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 2/28/2024, 1:05 PM
@ObserverIO - this
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