The 1994 movie The Crow brought to life the graphic novel created by James O’Barr for the big screen. It would be several decades and a number of sequels and one short-lived TV series before another direct adaptation would arrive. Now fans are set to receive The Crow starring Bill Skarsgård, taking over from the late Brandon Lee to portray Eric Draven – something which Skarsgård says was “daunting” at first – but made it a point to say that the new film is not a remake.
Bill Skarsgård, whose credits include IT: Chapter One, IT: Chapter Two, and Barbarian, is certainly an interesting pick to portray Draven. After all, he is a growing star. However, some fans feel as though The Crow should be left alone, especially given that Brandon Lee died while making the original movie.
As such, it’s understandable why Skarsgård called the part “daunting.” In a new interview, however, he says that feeling went away as he realized the new movie was “so different” from the Brandon Lee version. Here’s what he shared with People after acknowledging the other variations of the character from previous projects:
“So I’m not the first one to fill those shoes,” he says as an allusion to the franchise’s other actors.
“An iconic performance, a tragic thing that happened with Brandon,” Skarsgard said. “And for me, I approached this like I do any other job like, ‘What’s this story? How can I do this story justice?’”
Bill Skarsgård further explained how doing something completely different was the only way to respect the original version of The Crow:
“We were not remaking that movie, and that was never the intention,” he said. “I feel like that movie and his performance is iconic and shouldn’t be tampered with at all. So I’m glad that we tried to do something very different with it.”
Of course, the basic story beats will be the same, so we’ll have to see if this new version connects with fans old and new. Otherwise, it’s possible that 1994’s The Crow will remain the definitive iteration of the character for the big screen.